Reading Sacred Scripture With Thomas Aquinas. Hermeneutical Tools, Theological Questions and New Perspectives

Fédération Internationale des Instituts d’Études Médiévales TEXTES ET ÉTUDES DU MOYEN ÂGE, 80

READING SACRED SCRIPTURE WITH THOMAS AQUINAS. HERMENEUTICAL TOOLS, THEOLOGICAL QUESTIONS AND NEW PERSPECTIVES

Edited by Piotr ROSZAK and Jörgen VIJGEN

FÉDÉRATION INTERNATIONALE DES INSTITUTS D’ÉTUDES MÉDIÉVALES

Présidents honoraires : L.E. BOYLE (†) (Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana et Commissio Leonina, 1987-1999) L. HOLTZ (Institut de Recherche et d’Histoire des Textes, Paris, 1999-) Président : J. HAMESSE (Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve) Vice-Président : G. DINKOVA BRUUN (Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, Toronto) Membres du Comité : P. CAÑIZARES FERRIZ (Universidad Complutense de Madrid) O.R. CONSTABLE (†) (University of Notre Dame) M. HOENEN (Universität Basel) M.J. MUÑOZ JIMÉNEZ (Universidad Complutense de Madrid) R.H. PICH (Pontificia Universidade Católica do Río Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre) Secrétaire : M. PAVÓN RAMÍREZ (Centro Español de Estudios Eclesiásticos, Roma) Éditeur responsable : A. GÓMEZ RABAL (Institución Milá y Fontanals, CSIC, Barcelona) Coordinateur du Diplôme Européen d’Études Médiévales : G. SPINOSA (Università degli Studi di Cassino)

Fédération Internationale des Instituts d’Études Médiévales TEXTES ET ÉTUDES DU MOYEN ÂGE, 80

READING SACRED SCRIPTURE WITH THOMAS AQUINAS. HERMENEUTICAL TOOLS, THEOLOGICAL QUESTIONS AND NEW PERSPECTIVES

Edited by Piotr ROSZAK and Jörgen VIJGEN

F 2015

This book uses information gathered through grant: «The Bible and Metaphysics. The Hermeneutics of the Medieval Commentaries of Thomas Aquinas on Corpus Paulinum» funded from resources of the National Science Centre in Poland (NCN), allotted following the decision no. DEC2012/04/M/HS1/00724.

© 2015, Brepols Publishers n.v., Turnhout, Belgium All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. D/2015/0095/207 ISBN: 978-2-503-56227-8

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Piotr ROSZAK & Jörgen VIJGEN: Towards a ‘Biblical Thomism’: Introduction

VII

Part 1: Hermeneutical Tools Marco PASSAROTTI, What You Can Do with Linguistically Annotated Data. From the Index Thomisticus to the Index Thomisticus Treebank Gilbert DAHAN, Thomas Aquinas: Exegesis and Hermeneutics Elisabeth REINHARDT, Thomas Aquinas as Interpreter of Scripture in Light of his Inauguration Lectures Jeremy HOLMES, Participation and the Meaning of Scripture Piotr R OSZAK , The Place and Function of Biblical Citations in Thomas Aquinas’s Exegesis Mauricio NARVÁEZ, Intention, probabiles rationes and Truth: The Exegetical Practice in Thomas Aquinas. The Case of the Expositio super Iob ad litteram Margherita Maria ROSSI, Mind-space. Towards an “Environ-mental Method” in the Exegesis of the Middle Ages Olivier-Thomas VENARD, Metaphor, Between Necessitas and Delectatio Timothy F. B ELLAMAH , The Interpretation of a Contemplative: Thomas’ Commentary Super Iohannem Leo E LDERS , The Presence of the Church Fathers in Aquinas’ Commentaries on the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of John Jörgen VIJGEN, The Use and Function of Aristotle in Aquinas’s Biblical Commentaries

3 45 71 91 115

141 171 199 229

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Part 2: Theological Questions and New Perspectives Matthew LEVERING, The Old Testament in Aquinas’s Moral Theology Enrique MARTÍNEZ, The Elevation of Human Knowledge According to the Biblical Commentaries of Thomas Aquinas Robert J. WOŹNIAK, An Emerging Theology Between Scripture and Metaphysics: Bonaventure, Aquinas and the Scriptural Foundation of Medieval Theology Mirosław M RÓZ , Virtue Epistemology and Aquinas’s Biblical Commentary on the Corpus Paulinum Lluís CLAVELL, Philosophy and Sacred Text: Mutual Hermeneutical Help. The Case of Ex 3:14 Matthew RAMAGE, In the Beginning: Aquinas, Benedict XVI, and the Book of Genesis Daniel KEATING, Exegesis and Christology in Thomas Aquinas Christopher BAGLOW, The Principle(s) of Ecclesial Nature: The Church in the Ephesians Commentary of St. Thomas Aquinas

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Bibliography Editions of the Works of Thomas Aquinas and Abbreviations Ancient and Medieval Authors Modern Authors Contemporary authors Indices Index of Manuscripts Index of Ancient and Medieval Names Index of Modern and Contemporary Names

555 555 560 562 562

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415 435 457 481 507 531

591 593 595

PIOTR ROSZAK – JÖRGEN VIJGEN TOWARDS A ‘BIBLICAL THOMISM’: INTRODUCTION

Many years ago Étienne Gilson wrote that «the entire theology of St. Thomas is a commentary on the Bible; he advances no conclusion without basing it somehow on the word of Sacred Scripture, which is the Word of God»1. This volume offers a collection of essays on the hermeneutical tools used by Thomas Aquinas in his biblical exegesis and its contemporary relevance. Its goal is to familiarize the contemporary reader with an indispensable dimension of his scholarly activity: as a master in Sacred Scripture (magister in sacra pagina) Aquinas taught theology as a form of speculative reading of the revealed Word of God and hence the reading of the various books of the Bible constituted the axis of medieval scriptural didactics. Thomas Aquinas († 1274) lived at a time when biblical exegesis had seen a significant transformation: the monastic practice of lectio continua had given way to a scholastic heuristics of the Bible2. In this new paradigm of biblical science, the reading of Sacred Scripture was carried out on various levels: from familiarity with its contents during the lectio, through discovering its profound meaning in the disputatio to the application in everyday life in the praedicatio3. In other words, the scholarly engagement with the Bible starts from a textual exposition of the Bible, it discovers the speculative insights of the text and ultimately leads to the pastoral application thereof, following the three major steps of engaging Sacred Scripture: exegesis, speculation and preaching. The exegetical practice of Thomas Aquinas continues in this direction, benefitting from both the patristic tradition (especially Augustine and Jerome) as well as from the advances of his more immediate 12th century predecessors such as the school of Laon, the writers of the various Glossae and the Victorine school, in particular Hugh of St. Victor4. 1

É. GILSON, Les tribulations de Sophie, Vrin, Paris 1967, p. 47. Cf. M. M. ROSSI, «Conversazioni medioevali: associazioni sul tema della Bibbia nel medioevo», Divus Thomas, 35 (2002) 184-198. 3 Cf. G. DAHAN, L’exégèse chrétienne de la Bible en Occident médiéval, XIIe-XIVe siècle, Cerf, Paris 1999, pp. 239-297. 4 G. DAHAN, «L’influence des victorins dans l’exégèse de la Bible jusqu’à la fin du XIIIe siècle», in D. POIREL (ed.), L’École de Saint Victor de Paris. Influence et rayonnement du Moyen Âge à l’époque moderne, Brepols, Turnhout 2010, pp. 153-178. 2

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The theological activity of Aquinas as master in Sacred Scripture consists in explaining and exploring the meanings of the biblical text based on a hermeneutic model that leads to a theological exegesis and ultimately to an ecclesial application. At the heart of his exegetical practice stand the three levels of literal exposition formulated by Hugh of St. Victor littera – sensus – sententia: from the textual analysis and brief explanation of the words and their context (littera) to the analysis of the various elements (sensus) and the true understanding of the theological content, underlying the text (sententia)5. This characteristic of his hermeneutics, in which the literal sense has the principal and regulative role, leads to a rigorous reading of the Bible which contains a genuine scientific warrant. This partly explains why his exegesis is held in high regard by so many theologians, from Erasmus of Rotterdam6 to contemporary exegetes7. Aquinas’s commentaries to the Old and New Testament contain various other techniques such as the division of the biblical text (divisio textus), which conduces and facilitates a coherent and thematic interpretation, the insertion of theological questions and philosophical digressions, the connection of the text commented upon with passages from other books of the Bible, etc. All these techniques are not merely hermeneutical tools standing on their own but are also modes in which the genuine biblical character of his theology, the way in which he approaches the inspired texts and the role of these texts in developing a sacra doctrina come to the fore. The thought of Aquinas undoubtedly operates within a biblical horizon8. A 5 Cf. Hugh of St. Victor, Didascalia VI, 8: «Expositio tria continet: literam, sensum, sententiam». 6 Cf. Desiderium Erasmus, Annotationes in Novum Testamentum, Rom. 1:5, in Idem, Opera omnia, ed. JOANNES CLERICUS, 10 vols. (Lugduni Batavorum: cura et impensis Petri Vander AA, 1703-1706) [facsimile reprint = Olms, Hildesheim 1962], VI, col. 554E: «Dictu mirum est, quam se torqueat hoc loco Thomas Aquinas, vir alioqui non suo tantum seculo magnus. Nam meo quidem animo nullus est recentium Theologorum, cui par sit diligentia, cui sanius ingenium, cui solidior eruditio: planeque dignus erat, cui linguarum quoque peritia, reliquaque bonarum litterarum supellex contingeret, qui iis quae per eam tempestatem dabantur tam dextre sit usus». The critical edition is now available in Annotationes in Novum Testamentum. Pars tertia, Ed. P. F. HOVINGH, E. J. Brill, Leiden 2011 (Editio Amstelodamensis, VI,7). 7 Cf. M. LEVERING, Participatory Biblical Exegesis: A Theology of Biblical Interpretation, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame 2008.

Cf. P. ROSZAK, «Between Dialectics and Metaphor: Dynamics of the Exegetical Practice of Thomas Aquinas», Angelicum 90 (2013) 507-534. 8

TOWARDS A ‘BIBLICAL THOMISM’: INTRODUCTION

comprehensive understanding of Aquinas has to take into account therefore not merely his systematic works but also his biblical commentaries. Apart from the ‘material’ reason of the biblical commentaries themselves, there is also a ‘formal’ reason why Aquinas’s biblical commentaries are an indispensable part of his theological output and even the key for a comprehensive understanding of his theological thought. Almost all of his systematic works, and in particular his Summa Theologiae, are constructed around a set of biblical quotations. This becomes apparent by the fact that the sed contra of the individual articles of for instance the Summa Theologiae mostly contain biblical quotations, which serve as the authoritative basis for discussing the question at hand. In these cases it is necessary not to treat the particular biblical quotation as a mere argument from authority but to turn to the context of the particular quotation, as commented upon by Aquinas in his commentary on the biblical verse in question. Another element that highlights the importance of his biblical commentaries is the introduction of theological excursuses by way of formulating a series of quaestiones, occasioned by reading a particular passage from the Bible. This practice not only gives an insight into the didactic nature of Aquinas’s commentaries but also forms an echo of what happened at the classroom during his lectures. It also demonstrates the catechetical potential of Scripture and shows how these commentaries are incorporated into an ongoing dialogue between Scripture on the one hand and the Church and the ‘world’ on the other hand. Nevertheless, the history of reading and commenting on the works of Thomas Aquinas has resulted in a different picture of Thomism than the one outlined briefly above. Thomas was and is still most widely known for his Summa Theologiae and as a commentator of Aristotle whereas his contribution as a biblical theologian has been overlooked9. Although medieval biblical exegesis in general has witnessed a revived interest due 9

An investigation into the reason why Aquinas’s contribution as a biblical theologian has received so little recognition is a matter we cannot discuss here. The fact that the critical editions of almost all his biblical commentaries are still lacking has certainly contributed to this situation. It is worthwhile to recalling, however, the observation by Fergus Kerr: «The lack of decent texts, it has to be admitted, is entirely due to the fact that Thomists themselves have never read the biblical commentaries much. The Aquinas often criticized for being unbiblical is the creation of his selfstyled admirers». F. KERR, «Recent Thomistica 1», New Blackfriars, 83 (2002) 248.

PIOTR ROSZAK – JÖRGEN VIJGEN

to the increasing availability of critical editions and such seminal works as those of Beryl Smalley (The Study of the Bible in the Middle Ages) and Henri de Lubac (Exégèse médiévale: les quatre sens de l’écriture), published since the 1950’s, the credit for underlining the importance of Thomas Aquinas the exegete goes to Ceslaus Spicq’s work Esquisse d’une histoire de l’exégèse latine au Moyen Âge, published in 1944 and to his lengthy contribution entitled «Saint Thomas d’Aquin Exégète» in the Dictionnaire de Théologie Catholique10. The results of these works laid the groundwork for such studies as those of Marie-Dominique Chenu11, Maximino Arias Reyero12, Thomas Domanyi13 and others. In more recent times the «forgotten corpus of the Angelic Doctor»14 has been applied to a number of issues related to moral and dogmatic theology because it is perceived as «a medieval exegetical project of striking breadth and depth that still has much to teach contemporary theology and biblical studies»15 and can be made fruitful for the ecumenical dialogue. Simultaneously various translations of his commentaries into modern languages have appeared, among which the French translations undertaken by J.-É Stroobant de Saint-Éloy, often richly annotated and carefully introduced by Gilbert Dahan deserve special mention. In this way one is witnessing the development of what has been called ‘Biblical Thomism’ in which Aquinas’s thought is being explored through his study of Scripture16. 10

Edited by A. VACANT – E. MANGENOT – E. AMANN, Libraire Letouzey et Ané, Paris 1946, col. 694-738. 11 M.-D. CHENU, Introduction à l’étude de saint Thomas d’Aquin, Institut d’études médiévales – Vrin, Montréal – Paris 1950. 12 M. ARIAS REYERO, Thomas von Aquin als Exeget, Johannes Verlag, Einsiedeln 1971. 13 Th. DOMANYI, Der Römerbriefkommentar des Thomas von Aquin: Ein Beitrag zur Untersuchung seiner Auslegungsmethode, Peter Lang, Bern 1979. 14 «Preface» in Th. WEINANDY – D. KEATING – J. YOCUM (edd.), Aquinas on Scripture. An Introduction to his Biblical Commentaries, T&T Clark International, London – New York 2005, p. ix. 15 B. BLANKENHORN, «Aquinas on Paul’s Flesh/Spirit Anthropology in Romans», in M. LEVERING – M. DAUPHINAIS (edd.), Reading Romans with St. Thomas Aquinas, The Catholic University of America Press, Washington D.C. 2012, p. 38. 16 For a concise description of ‘biblical thomism’ and its origins in the work of Servais Pinckaers, cf. T. ROWLAND, Ratzinger’s Faith: The Theology of Pope Benedict XVI, Oxford University Press, Oxford 2008, pp. 26-27.

TOWARDS A ‘BIBLICAL THOMISM’: INTRODUCTION

Despite these achievements, there nevertheless remains much work to be done, especially given the fact that the critical edition of many of his biblical commentaries has still to appear. Most recent works have focused on analysing theological themes in a selected number of his commentaries17 without systematically taking into account the hermeneutical perspective of Aquinas. Our volume aims to fill this gap by identifying Aquinas’s hermeneutical tools, by offering a status questionis of current research regarding this topic and by indicating the direction of future research. As such it can serve as an aid for reading Aquinas’s biblical commentaries. The first section of the volume focuses on the hermeneutical tools employed in reading Scripture. Given that Aquinas’s biblical exegesis «is constituted by his procedure of continually moving, within the exegetical tasks, from exegesis proper to speculative theological questioning and back again»18, the multitude of hermeneutical tools employed by Aquinas becomes clear. The authors of this section address both the components of Aquinas’s method such as divisio textus, exemplum, intentio auctoris, the use of biblical citations and patristic sources but also the hermeneutics of biblical inspiration, philosophical influences and the relationship between exegesis and contemplation. Especially noteworthy as a contemporary hermeneutical tool is the chapter on the use of computational analysis in the Corpus Thomisticum. The second section of the volume is devoted to the contemporary, theological relevance of Aquinas’s biblical commentaries. The authors engage in dialogue with 20th century authors and texts (for instance S. Pinckaers, J. Ratzinger) in order to explore the relevance of Aquinas’s approach to sacred Scripture in such areas as moral philosophy and theology, dogmatic theology and scriptural exegesis. 17 Cf. WEINANDY – KEATING – J. YOCUM (edd.), Aquinas on Scripture; this volume presents a selected number of theological topics from some biblical commentaries. Other works have focused on specific commentaries and topics. Cf. M. LEVERING – M. DAUPHINAIS (edd.), Reading John with Thomas Aquinas. Theological Exegesis and Speculative Theology, The Catholic University of America Press, Washington D.C. 2005; M. LEVERING – M. DAUPHINAIS (edd.), Reading Romans with St. Thomas Aquinas, The Catholic University of America Press, Washington D.C. 2012; M. HAMMELE, Das Bild der Juden im Johannes-Kommentar des Thomas von Aquin: Ein Beitrag zu Bibelhermeneutik und Wissenschaftsgeschichte im 13. Jahrhundert, Katholisches Bibelwerk, Stuttgart 2012. 18 «Introduction», in M. LEVERING – M. DAUPHINAIS (edd.), Reading John with Thomas Aquinas. Theological Exegesis and Speculative Theology, The Catholic University of America Press, Washington D.C. 2005, p. xiii.

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Because the essays in this volume address a wide array of themes, the remainder of this introduction offers a brief synopsis of each of the essays. In 1949 Robert Busa SJ started the project of the Index Thomisticus, a computational tool unique in the study of medieval thought and highly appreciated by scholars. Marco Passarotti builds on the achievements of the Index Thomisticus and introduces the Index Thomisticus Treebank (IT-TB). After providing some basic issues in corpus annotation and treebanking, Passarotti presents the IT-TB by detailing the theoretical background that supports its annotation layers. He shows how to query the IT-TB, by showing a number of queries written in different languages and run with different tools and presents a lexical-based statistical analysis of the Biblical commentaries of Thomas Aquinas, showing the possibilities inherent in the use of digital language resources in the humanities. Gilbert Dahan discusses some of the central points of St. Thomas’s hermeneutical reflection: the borders between literal and spiritual exegesis, the proper mode of Scripture and the transition from the letter to the spirit. Each of these points is widely illustrated by examples from Aquinas’s works and discussed against the background of medieval exegesis. Elisabeth Reinhardt examines Aquinas’s earliest biblical commentaries, that is his inception texts with which he earned the title Magister in Sacra Pagina. She finds that these texts, also known as Rigans montes and Hic est liber, are a programmatic outline of Aquinas’s idea of what a theologian is supposed to do and what constitutes the nature of theology. She exemplifies these insights by examining his Commentary on Romans. Building on the work of Francis Martin, Matthew Lamb and Matthew Levering, Jeremy Holmes proposes that Thomas’s philosophical doctrine on participation offers a path to the fruitful recovery and deepening of traditional exegesis. In fact, as Holmes documents, participation permeates Aquinas’s entire understanding of reality and enables him «to the both/ and of Catholic thought». He emphasizes, moreover, that the analogical meanings of participation make it possible for Aquinas to see «salvation history, prophecy», and the spiritual sense of Scripture in a complex unity of anticipatory participation in the mystery of Christ. As Holmes points out, it is the philosophical notion of participation which deepens the traditional view of the spiritual sense of Scripture by showing the ontologically grounded likeness of biblical realities to the mysteries of Christ’s first and second comings, while simultaneously ensuring the value of the literal sense by illuminating the intrinsic worth of those past persons, institutions, and events.

TOWARDS A ‘BIBLICAL THOMISM’: INTRODUCTION

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Piotr Roszak focuses his attention on the function of biblical quotations, which Aquinas often uses to end his comments on a passage and which he cites without any introduction or comments. Roszak demonstrates that these quotations do not merely serve as a confirmation of Aquinas’s interpretation or as a mere decorative extension of his exegesis, but often change the direction of his interpretation. Analysing the functions of these citations in the various notae and sed contra in the biblical commentaries, Roszak argues for the existence of genuine hermeneutics, able to display the internal coherence of the Bible. In his detailed analysis of Aquinas’s Commentary on Job, Mauricio Narváez investigates the connection of truth to meaning and language. Starting from Aquinas’s assertion that the Book of Job discusses its subject per probabiles rationes, Narváez discusses how articulated truth, probability and the intention of the different characters are intertwined. The divisio textus or division of a text into smaller thematic and interconnected units is one of the main procedures of medieval exegesis. Building on her earlier research on this topic in Thomas Aquinas, Margharita Maria Rossi proposes an «environ-mental approach» for reading his biblical works. This approach takes its cue from the analogy between the exegetical practice of a medieval reader of the Bible and the work of an architect. It searches for the «mental space» defined by all elements present in the text (and thus implied in the analysis), considered in the structural position granted to them by the master and which determines their epistemic value within the progression of the text. Contrary to modernity’s separation between theology and poetry, Olivier-Thomas Venard argues for the central importance of metaphor as the indispensable pivot between Holy Scripture and theology. Venard discusses Aquinas’s use of metaphor as an alternative to the view of Paul Ricœur, who attempts to protect speculative theological discourse from the contamination of metaphor and attempts to answer the question how a secular reader can still accept Aquinas’ «theological poetics». Timothy F. Bellamah seeks to understand the contribution of Aquinas’s commentary on John’s Gospel within the Johannine commentorial tradition in the Medieval Latin West. He starts out by investigating the historical context of the commentary, its origin, sources and diffusion in manuscript and print. Bellamah then inquires into the principles and techniques Thomas brings to bear in his prologue to the commentary, his employment of sources, and his literal and spiritual expositions of the Biblical text.

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Leo Elders examines Aquinas’s use of the Church Fathers in the commentaries on the Gospels of Matthew and John. After commenting on the function of the Church Fathers in these commentaries, Elders turns to the most important individual Church Fathers. As Elders carefully documents, Aquinas continually makes use of the Church Fathers throughout his commentaries in order to provide an historical context, to delineate the contours of acceptable interpretations, to indicate speculative developments and moral applications of a given passage. Jörgen Vijgen investigates the explicit references to Aristotle in Aquinas’s commentaries on Scripture, a topic which he claims has been overlooked by contemporary research. After identifying all these references (see the appendix to his contribution), he analyses for a large number of these references their context and function within Aquinas’s commentaries. Far from obscuring the meaning of the Christian faith by employing Aristotelian philosophical ideas, Vijgen demonstrates the way in which Aristotle functions as Aquinas’s primordial intellectual collocutor whenever he, as a theologian, is seeking an understanding of the difficulties of the text of the Bible. For Aquinas Aristotle can shed light on a wide range of theological topics in the areas of dogmatic theology and moral theology touched upon in the Bible. Aquinas’s references to a broad selection of works from the Corpus Aristotelicum in order to shed light on these topics show the ease with which Aquinas combines the natural level of Aristotle’s philosophical insights with revealed Scripture. In the opening essay of the second part, Matthew Levering follows up on the call for moral theology to draw more fully on the teaching of holy Scripture. He starts out by making a careful survey of how Servais Pinckaers construes Aquinas’s sources, and especially Aquinas’s biblical sources, in his The Sources of Christian Ethics. Building on John Cuddeback’s recent critique of Pinckaers’s book for not attending sufficiently to the value of law, he examines Aquinas’s use of the Old Testament in the secunda pars of the Summa theologiae. His meticulous analysis shows that not least in his use of the Old Testament, Aquinas’s moral theology serves as a model of what a fully biblical moral theology should be. The ongoing centrality of the relation between created nature and perfecting grace is the topic of the contribution by Enrique Martínez. On the basis of Aquinas’s biblical commentaries and with an eye for its underlying metaphysics, he first analyzes the elevation of human nature in general, starting by analyzing the most perfect way in which it has

TOWARDS A ‘BIBLICAL THOMISM’: INTRODUCTION

occurred, namely, in the hypostatic union. Subsequently, he studies the prior requirement of such elevation and in particular knowledge, by focusing on three of its traits: the truth, the interior word and the intellectual light. Finally, the elevation of human intelligence itself is analyzed. Throughout his contribution, Martinez shows how the speculative doctrine of the harmony between nature and grace is firmly rooted in Scripture. Both from an historical as well as from a systematical viewpoint the interrelationship between scriptural exegesis and metaphysics has been the center of contemporary debates. The contribution by Robert J. Woźniak shows the interplay of systematic theology, biblical exegesis and metaphysics in Bonaventure and Aquinas, exemplified by their theological reasoning on God as first Person of the Trinity. Woźniak argues that their approaches transcend the contemporary division between foundationalism and anti-foundationalism. Within contemporary accounts of epistemology, the topic of virtue epistemology (as developed by Linda Zagzebski and others) plays a central role. Mirosław Mróz’s contribution underlines the importance of Aquinas’s account of the three intellectual virtues (understanding, knowledge and wisdom) as commented upon in his commentaries on the Pauline Letters in order to deepen and broaden the contemporary debate on virtue epistemology. In fact, once these cognitive virtues are imbued by the «power from above» grace purifies and elevates them. Aquinas’s way of cultivating exegesis has consequences not only for theology but also for philosophy. Lluís Clavell analyzes Thomas’s interpretation of the famous passage from Ex. 3:14 (where God reveals His name) in his biblical commentaries. Aquinas’s exegesis shows that this Name reveals God’s infinite fullness of being, but also that it is the proper name of God because God says in a personal way to his people: My name is «Who is». Clavell argues that Aquinas’s reading is not a mere philosophical hermeneutic but a hermeneutic shaped by Scripture. Matthew Ramage explores the respective exegetical methods and practices of Thomas Aquinas and Ratzinger/Benedict XVI as applied within the account of primeval history narrated in Genesis 1-3. After addressing Ratzinger’s critiques of neo-scholasticism, he offers an overview of principles illustrating key points of contact in which Ratzinger implicitly (and explicitly at points) connects his exegetical programme with that of Aquinas. Ramage shows that Ratzinger conducts his exegesis of Genesis in a way that is much in the spirit of Thomas and indeed shares many

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parallels with Thomas’ exegesis of the same texts. At the same time, he demonstrates that Ratzinger makes significant advances beyond Aquinas with the help of the modern scholarly tools to which he is privy. Daniel Keating sets out to show how Aquinas’s biblical exegesis informs and governs his Christology, both in the systematic treatments of the Incarnation in the Summa Contra Gentiles and the Summa Theologiae as well as in his commentary on two core christological texts from his commentaries on the Gospel of John and the Letter to the Philippians. He concludes that, when exploring Christological questions and issues in a systematic fashion, Thomas provides an impressive and canonically rich use of scripture both to anchor and illuminate teaching about Christ. Christopher Baglow offers a holistic reading of Aquinas’s commentary on the Letter to the Ephesians according to its ecclesiological theme. The commentary constitutes, according to him, «a metaphysico-theological account of what the Church is established to be, then, now and always, in the divine intention» or an «exegetical De ecclesia». Baglow shows that with the help of an Aristotelian, hylomorphic account of the soul/body relationship Aquinas is able to shed light on the institution of ecclesial unity and the principles of ecclesial nature and on Christ/Spirit as enduring cause and principle of the existence and oneness of the Church. In so drawing out the contours of the Letter to the Ephesians, Aquinas offers a fresh perspective that is thoroughly faithful to the Epistle.

Part I: Hermeneutical Tools

MARCO PASSAROTTI* WHAT YOU CAN DO WITH LINGUISTICALLY ANNOTATED DATA. FROM THE INDEX THOMISTICUS TO THE INDEX THOMISTICUS TREEBANK

Introduction It was in 1949 when the late father Roberto Busa SJ (1913-2011) started the project that would have led to the Index Thomisticus (IT)1, helping to lay the foundations of computational linguistics and literary computing. One of the first annotated corpora available on machinereadable format ever, the IT contains the opera omnia of Thomas Aquinas (118 texts) as well as 61 texts by other authors related to Thomas, for a total of approximately 11 million tokens. The corpus is morphologically tagged and lemmatized and it is available on paper, CD-ROM and on-line (www.corpusthomisticum.org). With the aim of performing the syntactic and semantic annotation of the entire IT, the project of the Index Thomisticus Treebank (IT-TB: http://itreebank.marginalia.it) has begun in 2006, leading the linguistic annotation of the corpus to its natural next step. This paper has two main objectives. The first one is to introduce the IT-TB. After providing some basic issues in corpus annotation and treebanking (section 2), the paper presents the IT-TB by detailing the theoretical background that supports its annotation layers (section 3). The second aim of the paper is to give examples about “what you can do with linguistically annotated data”. In this respect, sections 4 and 5 respectively report two cases of exploitation of the IT-TB and the IT. In particular, section 4 explains how to query the IT-TB, by showing a number of queries written in different languages and run with different tools. Section 5 presents a lexical-based statistical analysis of the Biblical commentaries of Thomas Aquinas and discusses the results achieved. Finally, section 6 is a general conclusion about the use of digital language resources in the humanities. *

CIRCSE Research Centre, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Largo A. Gemelli 1, 20123 Milan, Italy. [emailprotected]. 1 R. BUSA, Index Thomisticus, Frommann-Holzboog, Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt 1974-1980.

MARCO PASSAROTTI

Corpus Annotation and Treebanks Annotated corpora are collections of linguistic data enhanced with different kinds of metadata. Such resources are basic components of linguistic research and natural language processing (NLP), as their metadata can be used for different purposes, ranging from research in theoretical linguistics to applications in language engineering. As far as linguistic metadata are concerned, corpus annotation deals with the following layers of analysis: - morphology: given the list of all the different words occurring in the corpus, each of them is lemmatized and morphologically tagged without disambiguation; - morphological disambiguation: each occurrence of each word in the corpus is regarded in its context and both its lemmatization and morphological analysis are disambiguated; - syntactic analysis: it is focussed not on word-level anymore, but on sentence-level. It describes the syntactic relations holding between the words in the sentence; these relations can be tagged with functional syntactic labels such as Subject, Object etc.; - higher layers of annotation mostly deal with semantics, including tasks like named-entity recognition, semantic role labelling, word sense disambiguation, pragmatic analysis, and coreference, ellipsis and anaphora resolution. Syntactically annotated corpora are known as ‘treebanks’, the term ‘treebank’ referring to the representation of the syntactic structure of sentences in terms of tree-graphs. Syntactic tree-graphs are built according to two main grammar frameworks: Phrase Structure Grammars (PSG) and Dependency Grammars (DG). Roughly speaking, the following are the differences between PSG and DG at the tree-graph level. A DG tree-graph is a tree in which all nodes are labeled with words. Nodes are connected to each other in hierarchical fashion through branches, DG being predicate-focused grammars based on the notions of ‘dependency’ (the head-dependent relations between words) and ‘valency’ (the number of obligatory arguments for verbs and some nouns, adjectives and adverbs). Instead, a PSG-based tree-graph is a tree in which all, and only, the leaf nodes are labeled with words, while internal nodes are labeled with non-terminal symbols (such as various kinds of phrases, like nominal phrases, prepositional phrases, verbal phrases etc.).

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Mostly because of the great success of PSG in linguistics in the second half of the last century, the first treebanks, available since the 70s, were annotated according to PSG-based schemata: see, for instance, the IBM, Lancaster and, later on, Penn treebanks of English. However, over the last two decades many dependency-based treebanks (of different languages) has appeared. As a matter of fact, the DG framework is gaining always wider interest in the scientific community that deals with annotated corpora because it is simple, yet providing useful information for many linguistic and NLP tasks. For instance, many dependency relations (such as Subject or Object) have tight correlations with semantic roles (like Agent or Patient), which makes a dependency structure suitable for representing semantic information such as predicate-argument structure. Furthermore, Carroll et alii2 have shown that inter-annotator agreement is significantly better for dependency treebanks, indicating that phrase-structure annotation is requiring too many irrelevant decisions.

The Index Thomisticus Treebank Theoretical Background The IT-TB is a (ongoing) dependency treebank based on a subset of the IT3. Since its beginning, the project has been carried out at the CIRCSE research centre of the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan, Italy (http://centridiricerca.unicatt.it/circse). The choice of a representation framework does not determine alone the representation for a given sentence, as there can be many (correct) DG or PSG trees for even simple sentences. Conversely, no theoryneutral representation of a sentence is possible, since every representation framework needs a theory to extract its meaning. Thus, a fine-grained linguistic theory must be chosen to support the specific aspects raised by 2 J. CARROLL – T. BRISCOE – A. SANFILIPPO, «Parser Evaluation: a Survey and a New Proposal», in A. RUBIO –N. GALLARDO – R. CASTRO – A. TEJADA (eds.), Proceedings of the First International Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC 1998). May 28-30, 1998, ELRA, Granada 1998, pp. 447-454. 3 B. MCGILLIVRAY – M. PASSAROTTI – P. RUFFOLO, «The Index Thomisticus Treebank Project: Annotation, Parsing and Valency Lexicon», Traitement Automatique des Langues, 50(2) (2009) 103-127.

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a large-scale annotation of real data. In this respect, the annotation style of the IT-TB is grounded on Functional Generative Description (FGD)4, a dependency-based theoretical framework developed in Prague and intensively applied and tested while building the Prague Dependency Treebank of Czech (PDT). FGD is deeply rooted in Praguian structuralism-functionalism dating back to the 30s. In particular, FGD recalls the stratificational approach to sentence analysis pursued by Functional Sentence Perspective (FSP), a linguistic theory developed by Jan Firbas in the mid-50s on the basis of Vilém Mathesius’ work5. According to FSP, the sentence is conceived as: (1) a singular and individual speech event [utterance-event]; (2) one of the possible different minimal communicative units (means) of the given language [form]; (3) an abstract structure (a pattern) [meaning]. By considering language as a form-meaning composite, FGD mainly focusses on the last point. Its aim is to describe the so-called ‘underlying syntax’ of the sentence. Underlying syntax (the meaning) is separated from (but still connected with) surface syntax (the form) and represents the linguistic (literal) meaning of the sentence, which is described through dependency tree-graphs. This approach is consistent with the functional and pragmatic analysis of language pursued by the Prague Linguistic Circle since its very beginning (in the so-called ‘first period’ of the Circle). Language is conceived as «un système de moyens d’expression appropriés à un but» («a system of purposive means»)6. Here, the «moyens d’expression» correspond to the ‘form’ (surface syntax), while the fact that they are «appropriés à un but» corresponds to the ‘meaning’ (underlying syntax). The description of surface and underlying syntax in FGD is dependencybased mostly because DG are predicate-focused grammars, thus enabling FGD to face another of the basic statements of the Prague Linguistic 4

P. SGALL – E. HAJIČOVÁ – J. PANEVOVÁ, The Meaning of the Sentence in its Semantic and Pragmatic Aspects, D. Reidel, Dordrecht NL 1986. 5 J. FIRBAS, Functional Sentence Perspective in Written and Spoken Communication, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge UK 1992. 6 CERCLE LINGUISTIQUE DE PRAGUE, «Thèses présentées au Premier Congrès des philologues slaves», in Travaux du Cercle linguistique de Prague 1: Mélanges linguistiques dédiés au Premier Congrès des philologues slaves, Jednota Československých matematiků a fysiků, Prague 1929, p. 7.

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Circle: «l’acte syntagmatique fondamental […] est la prédication» («the basic syntagmatic act is predication»)7. In this respect, during the second period of the theory of predication pursued by the Circle, while accounting for the three-level approach to the sentence in FSP, Daneš claims that «[t] he kernel syntactic relation is that of dependance»8. Consistently with this theoretical background, the PDT (and the ITTB, as well) is a dependency treebank with a three-layer structure, in which each layer corresponds to one of the three views of the sentence mentioned above9. The layers are ordered as follows: (1) a morphological layer: disambiguated morphological annotation and lemmatization; (2) an ‘analytical’ layer: annotation of surface syntax; (3) a ‘tectogrammatical’ layer: annotation of underlying syntax. Developing one layer requires the availability of the previous one(s). Both analytical and tectogrammatical layers describe the sentence structure with dependency tree-graphs, respectively named ‘analytical tree structures’ (ATSs) and ‘tectogrammatical tree-structures’ (TGTSs). In ATSs every word and punctuation mark of the sentence is represented by a node of a rooted dependency tree. The edges of the tree correspond to dependency relations that are labelled with (surface) syntactic functions called ‘analytical functions’ (like Subject, Object, etc.). TGTSs describe the underlying structure of the sentence, conceived as the semantically relevant counterpart of the grammatical means of expression (described by ATSs). The nodes of TGTSs represent autosemantic words only, while function words and puntuation marks are left out. The nodes are labeled with semantic role tags called ‘functors’, which are divided into two classes according to valency: (a) arguments, called ‘inner participants’, i.e. obligatory complementations of verbs, nouns, adjectives and adverbs: Actor, Patient, Addressee, Effect and Origin; (b) adjuncts, called ‘free modifications’: different kinds of adverbials, like Place, Time, 7

CERCLE LINGUISTIQUE DE PRAGUE, «Thèses», p. 13. F. DANES, «A three-level approach to syntax», in J. VACHEK (ed.), Travaux linguistiques de Prague 1: L’École de Prague d’aujourd’hui, Éditions de l’Académie Tchécoslovaque des Sciences, Prague 1964, p. 227. 9 J. HAJIČ – A. BÖHMOVÁ – E. HAJIČOVÁ – B. VIDOVÁ HLADKÁ, «The Prague Dependency Treebank: A Three-Level Annotation Scenario», in A. ABEILLÉ (ed.), Treebanks: Building and Using Parsed Corpora, Kluwer, Amsterdam 2000, pp. 103127. 8

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Manner etc. The ‘dialogue test’ by Panevová10 is used as the guiding criterion for obligatoriness. TGTSs feature two dimensions that represent respectively the syntactic structure of the sentence (the vertical dimension) and its information structure (‘topic-focus articulation’, TFA), based on the underlying word order (the horizontal dimension). In FGD, TFA deals with the opposition between contextual boundness (the ‘given’ information, on the left) and contextual unboundness (the ‘new’ information, on the right). Also ellipsis resolution and coreferential analysis are performed at the tectogrammatical layer and are represented in TGTSs through newly added nodes (ellipsis) and arrows (coreference). Since its beginning, the IT-TB has been following the PDT annotation style because of both typological and structural reasons. As far as the former are concerned, Latin and Czech share certain relevant properties, such as being richly inflected, showing discontinuous phrases, and having a moderately free word-order and a high degree of synonymity and ambiguity of the endings11. Both languages have three genders (masculine, feminine, neuter), cases with roughly the same meaning, and no articles. As for the latter, the tight connection between the three-layer structure of the PDT and a sound background theory like FGD allows to consider each layer of annotation as one part of a more general framework driven by a functional perspective aimed at understanding the underlying meaning of the sentence, through its relation with the surface form. Moreover, tectogrammatical annotation includes several pragmatic aspects that, although much present in Latin linguistics research, are still missing in the available annotated corpora of Latin12. 10 J. PANEVOVÁ, «On verbal Frames in Functional Generative Description», Prague Bulletin of Mathematical Linguistics, 22 (1974) 3-40. Part II published in Prague Bulletin of Mathematical Linguistics, 23 (1975) 17-52. 11 Discontinuous constituents are those broken by words of other constituents. An example is the following sentence by Ovid (Met. I.1-2): «In nova fert animus mutatas dicere formas corpora» («[My] mind leads [me] to tell of forms changed into new bodies»). In this sentence, both the nominal phrases ‘nova corpora’ and ‘mutatas formas’ are discontinuous. 12 Some semantic-pragmatic annotation of Latin texts is available only in the PROIEL corpus: D. HAUG – M. JØHNDAL, «Creating a Parallel Treebank of the Old Indo-European Bible Translations», in K. RIBAROV – C. SPORLEDER (eds.), Proceedings of the Language Technology for Cultural Heritage Data Workshop (LaTeCH 2008), ELRA, Marrakech 2008, pp. 27-34. The Latin subset of PROIEL includes Classical

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Annotation Layers Morphological Layer Although the IT is a morphologically tagged corpus, its morphological annotation must be first automatically corrected by a Part-of-Speech (PoS) tagger, and then checked by a human annotator. As a matter of fact, the IT texts are tagged in such a way that a word is assigned only one of its possible morphological analyses (namely, the first in the traditional order of grammars). For instance, in the IT a word like puella is always tagged as a singular nominative, but never as a singular vocative, or ablative, because nominative occurs before both vocative and ablative in the usual order of Latin cases. The texts included in the IT-TB are morphologically disambiguated. Disambiguation is performed mostly automatically, by using a probabilistic PoS tagger13 (Hunpos14). Manual checking is run only on those (categories of) words that show an high error rate in the automatic tagging.

Analytical Layer Along the first three years of the project, the analytical annotation of the IT-TB was performed manually only. Since 2009, analytical data are annotated in semi-automatic fashion by using a probabilistic parser trained on a subset of the IT-TB15. Semi-automatic annotation allows annotators to texts from the 1st century BC (Caesar, Cicero), the Peregrinatio Aetheriae and the New Testament by Jerome (both from the 5th century AD). 13 M. PASSAROTTI, «Leaving Behind the Less-Resourced Status. The Case of Latin through the Experience of the Index Thomisticus Treebank», in K. SARASOLA – F. M. TYERS – M. L. FORCADA (eds.), 7th SaLTMiL Workshop on Creation and Use of Basic Lexical Resources for Less-Resourced Languages, LREC 2010, La Valletta, Malta, 23 May 2010, ELRA, Malta 2010, pp. 27-32. 14 P. HALÁCSY – A. KORNAI – C. ORAVECZ, «HunPos – an open source trigram tagger», in S. ANANIADOU (ed.), Proceedings of the ACL 2007 Demo and Poster Sessions, ACL, Prague 2007, pp. 209-212. 15 M. PASSAROTTI – F. DELL’ORLETTA, «Improvements in Parsing the Index Thomisticus Treebank. Revision, Combination and a Feature Model for Medieval Latin», in N. CALZOLARI – K. CHOUKRI – B. MAEGAARD – J. MARIANI – J. ODIJK – S. PIPERIDIS – M. ROSNER – D. TAPIAS (eds.), Proceedings of the Seventh International

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build ATSs not from scratch anymore, but by checking the trees produced by the parser and correcting the mistakes. In this regard, Marcus et alii have shown that manual tagging takes twice as long as correcting pretagged text, and results in twice the inter-annotator disagreement rate, as well as an error rate about 50% higher16. So far, the number of analytically annotated nodes in the IT-TB is around 230,000, corresponding to approximately 12,000 sentences excerpted from three works of Thomas Aquinas: Scriptum super Sententiis Magistri Petri Lombardi (Sent.), Summa contra Gentiles (ScG) and Summa Theologiae (ST). In particular, the IT-TB includes the following texts annotated at the analytical layer: A. concordances of the lemma forma17: - all the sentences of Sent. and ST that feature at least one occurrence of the lemma forma; - all the sentences that feature at least one occurrence of the lemma forma in the first 76 qq. of ST; B. entire first book and chs. 1-80 of the second book of ScG. Analytical annotation is performed according to a specific manual for the syntactic annotation of Latin treebanks18, which was developed on the basis of the PDT guidelines for analytical annotation19. Figure 1 reports the ATS of the following sentence of the IT-TB: «tunc enim unaquaeque res optime disponitur cum ad finem suum convenienter Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC 2010). May 19-21, 2010, La Valletta, Malta, ELRA, Malta 2010, pp. 1964-1971. 16 M. MARCUS – B. SANTORINI – M. A. MARCINKIEWICZ, «Building a Large Annotated Corpus of English: the Penn Treebank», Computational Linguistics, 19(2) (1993) 313-330. 17 This is due to the fact that the IT-TB was originally started to support the writing of the lexical entries of the so-called ‘Lessico Tomistico Biculturale’, a new lexicon of Thomas Aquinas, conceived by father Busa, empirically induced from the evidence provided by the IT. The first lexical entry of the LTB to be built in this fashion is that of forma. 18 D. BAMMAN – M. PASSAROTTI – G. CRANE – S. RAYNAUD, «Guidelines for the Syntactic Annotation of Latin Treebanks», Tufts University Digital Library (2007). Available from http://hdl.handle.net/10427/42683. 19 J. HAJIČ – J. PANEVOVÁ – E. BURÁNOVÁ – Z. UREŠOVÁ – A. BÉMOVÁ, Annotations at Analytical Level. Instructions for annotators, Institute of Formal and Applied Linguistics, Prague 1999. Available from http://ufal.mff. cuni. cz/pdt2.0/doc/manuals/ en/a-layer/pdf/a-man-en.pdf.

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ordinatur;» («So, each thing is excellently arranged when it is properly directed to its purpose;», ScG I, ch. 1, no. 2).

Fig 1. An Analytical Tree Structure.

Except for the technical root of the tree (holding the textual reference of the sentence), each node in the ATS corresponds to one word or punctuation mark in the sentence. Nodes are arranged from left to right according to surface word-order; they are connected in governor-dependent fashion and each relation is labelled with an analytical function. For instance, the relation between the word res and its governor disponitur is labelled with the analytical function Sb (Subject), i.e. res is the subject of disponitur. Four kinds of analytical functions that occur in the tree are assigned to auxiliary sentence members, namely AuxC (subordinating conjunctions: cum), AuxK (terminal punctuation marks), AuxP (prepositions: ad) and AuxY (sentence adverbs: enim, tunc)20. 20

The other analytical functions occurring in this sentences are the following: Atr (attributes), Adv (adverbs and adverbial modifications, i.e. adjuncts), AuxS (root of the tree), Obj (direct and indirect objects), Pred (main predicate of the sentence).

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Tectogrammatical Layer As the tectogrammatical annotation of the IT-TB has just started and no other Latin texts annotated at the tectogrammatical layer are available yet, we cannot train and use probabilistic NLP tools to build TGTSs. Thus, the tectogrammatical annotation workflow is based on TGTSs automatically converted from ATSs. The TGTSs that result from conversion are then checked and refined manually by two independent annotators. Conversion is performed by adapting to Latin a number of ATS-to-TGTS scripts provided by the NLP framework Treex developed in Prague21. Relying on ATSs, the basic functions of these scripts are: - to collapse the ATS nodes for function words and punctuation marks, as they no longer receive a node for themselves in TGTSs, but are included into the nodes for autosemantic words; - to assign basic functors (such as Actor, Patient etc.); - to assign ‘grammatemes’: grammatemes are node attributes capturing the meaning of semantically relevant morphological categories such as number and gender for nouns, degree of comparison for adjectives and adverbs, tense and aspect for verbs. For instance, pluralia tantum nouns are tagged with the singular number grammateme. On the contrary, collective nouns, despite being morphologically singular, are tagged with the plural number grammateme. The annotation guidelines are those for the tectogrammatical layer of the PDT22. So far, the first 200 sentences of ScG have been fully annotated at tectogrammatical level (corresponding to 3,112 words and 451 punctuation marks). Figure 2 shows the TGTS corresponding to the ATS of the sentence reported in figure 1.

21 M. POPEL – Z. ŽABOKRTSKÝ, «TectoMT: Modular NLP Framework», in H. LOFTSSON – E. RÖGNVALDSSON – S. HELGADÓTTIR (eds.), Proceedings of IceTAL, 7th International Conference on Natural Language Processing, Reykjavík, Iceland, August 17, 2010, Springer, Berlin – Heidelberg – New York 2010, pp. 293-304. 22 M. MIKULOVÁ et alii, Annotation on the Tectogrammatical Layer in the Prague Dependency Treebank Institute of Formal and Applied Linguistics, Prague 2006. Available from http://ufal.mff.cuni. cz/pdt2.0/doc/manuals/en/t-layer/html/index.html.

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Fig. 2. A Tectogrammatical Tree Structure23

As only autosemantic nodes can occur in TGTSs, auxiliary sentence members labelled with AuxC, AuxK, or AuxP are collapsed. Analytical functions are replaced with functors. The nodes for the lemmas tunc and enim are both assigned the functor PREC, since they represent expressions linking the clause to the preceding context; further, tunc and enim are given nodetype ‘atom’ (atomic nodes), which is used for adverbs of attitude, intensifying or modal expressions, rhematizers and text connectives (which is the case of tunc and enim)24. Res is the Patient (PAT) of dispono, as it is the syntactic subject of a passive verbal form (disponitur)25. Both the adverbial forms of bonus (optime) and convenio (convenienter) are labelled with functor MANN, which expresses manner by specifying an evaluating characteristic of the event, or a property. Unusquisque is a pronominal restrictive adnominal modification (RSTR) 23

In the default visualization of TGTSs, wordforms are replaced with lemmas. MIKULOVÁ et alii, Annotation on the Tectogrammatical Layer in the Prague Dependency Treebank, p. 17. 25 Conversely, syntactic subjects of active verbal forms are usually labelled with the functor ACT (Actor). However, this does not always hold true, since the functor of the subject depends on the semantic features of the verb. 24

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that further specifies the governing noun res. The clause headed by ordinatur (lemma: ordino; analytical function: Adv) is assigned the functor COND, as it reports the condition on which the event expressed by the governing verb (disponitur; lemma: dispono) can happen. The lemma finis is assigned the functor DIR3 (Directional: to), which expresses the target point of the event. Finis is then specified by an adnominal modification of appurtenance (APP). Three newly added nodes occur in the tree (square nodes), to provide ellipsis resolution of those arguments of the verbs dispono and ordino that are missing in the surface structure. Dispono is a two-argument verb, the two arguments being respectively the Actor and the Patient, but only the Patient is explicitly expressed in the sentence, i.e. the syntactic subject res. The missing argument, i.e. the Actor (ACT), is thus replaced with a ‘general argument’ (#Gen), because the coreferred element of the omitted modification cannot be clearly identified, even with the help of the context. The same holds also for the Actor of the verb ordino (#Gen), whose Patient (#PersPron, PAT) is coreferential with the noun res, as well as the possessive adjective suus (#PersPron, APP). In the TGTS, these coreferential relations are shown by the blue arrows that link the two #PersPron nodes with the node for res26. The nodes in the TGTS are arranged from left to right according to TFA, which is signalled by the colour of the nodes (white nodes: topic; yellow nodes: focus). A so-called ‘semantic part of speech’ is assigned to every node: for instance, ‘denotational noun’ is assigned to finis27. Finally, the illocutionary force class informing about the sentential modality is assigned to the main predicate of the sentence dispono (‘enunciative’).

Querying the Index Thomisticus Treebank The IT-TB is a language resource freely available under a Creative Common Licence (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercialShareAlike 3.0 Unported License). Data can be queried by using two 26

#PersPron is a ‘t-lemma’ (tectogrammatical lemma) assigned to nodes representing possessive and personal pronouns (including reflexives). 27 For further details, see MIKULOVÁ et alii, Annotation on the Tectogrammatical Layer in the Prague Dependency Treebank, p. 47.

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different tools and query languages. Both the tools and the query languages are highly portable, language-independent, well documented and widely used in the field of (computational) linguistics. TrEd and PML Tree Query PML Tree Query (PML-TQ)28 is a query language and search engine developed in Prague and freely available as an extension of the tree editor TrEd29. PML-TQ supports complex queries (to be written either in graphical or textual mode) and permits to build outputs in the form either of sequences of trees or fully customizable lists. Figure 3 presents a graphical query designed for searching the analytical data of the IT-TB (“a-node” means “analytical-node”). This query searches for all the occurrences of a subtree shaped as follows: a node (named $n0) of a wordform whose lemma is sum (m/lemma= “sum”)30 and that is member of a paratactic structure, i.e. a coordination or an apposition (is_member = 1). This node has (at least) two direct, or indirect childnodes (‘echild’ relation), namely31: - $n1: labelled with the analytical function Pnom (Nominal Predicate) (afun = “Pnom”); - $n2: (a) a wordform of the lemma forma (m/lemma= “forma”), (b) member of a paratactic structure (is_member = 1) and (c) labelled with analytical function Sb (Subject) (afun = “Sb”). Further, $n1 must follow $n2 in the surface word-order of the sentence (as it is represented by the horizontal arrow going from $n2 to $n1).

28 P. PAJAS – J. ŠTĚPÁNEK, «System for querying syntactically annotated corpora», in G. GEUNBAE LEE, S. SCHULTE IM WALDE (eds.), Proceedings of the ACL-IJCNLP 2009 Software Demonstrations, World Scientific Publishing Co Pte Ltd, Singapore 2009, pp. 33-36. 29 http://ufal.mff.cuni.cz/tred/. The user manual of PML-TQ is accessible at http:// ufal.mff.cuni.cz/pmltq/doc/pmltq_doc.html. 30 Here, m/lemma refers to the lemma registered at the morphological layer of annotation (m). 31 Indirect dependency relations are those where one or more intermediate nodes occur between the head and the dependent in the tree. These nodes can be auxiliary sentence members (like prepositions and subordinating conjunctions), coordinating conjunctions (for instance, et), or words/expressions introducing appositions (scilicet).

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Fig. 3. A graphical query of analytical data.

Figure 4 reports one of the results of the above query.

Fig. 4. An ATS resulting from a query.

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The sentence whose ATS is displayed in figure 4 is the following: «perfectio autem et forma effectus est quaedam similitudo agentis, cum omne agens agat sibi simile.» («but both the perfection and the form of the effect are a kind of resemblance of the agent, since every agent does something similar to itself»)32. Consistently with the query, the ATS in figure 4 features a wordform of the lemma sum (est) heading a coordinated subject, one of whose two members is a form of the lemma forma («perfectio et forma»); the nominal predicate of est (similitudo) follows the subject in the surface order. The corresponding textual mode of the above query looks as follows: a-node $n0 := [ m/lemma = “sum”, is_member = 1, . echild a-node $n2 := . [ afun = “Sb”, is_member = 1, m/lemma = “forma” ], . echild a-node $n1 := . [ afun = “Pnom” ] ]; The query in textual mode gets written automatically by TrEd according to what the user draws in the graphical interface. However, if the user has more specific needs than viewing the output ATSs one by one (like building a list extracted from results), she has to add manually an instruction at the end of the textual query. For instance, if the user wants to know which lemmas occur in the position of node $n1, i.e. which are the lemmas that have the role of nominal predicate in this construction, she has to add the following instruction: >> for $n1.m/lemma give $1,count() sort by $2 desc,$1 This line tells the tool to take the lemma of each node $n1 in the query (for $n1.m/lemma) and to return a list (give). Each row of this list must report the lemma itself ($133) followed by the number of its occurrences (count()). 32 The textual reference of this sentence is the following: a- (analytical tree), 007 (seventh text registered in the IT), ST1 (ST I), QU--++6 (q. 6), AR1 (a. 1), 3-6 (sentence starts at line 3, word 6), 5-4 (sentence ends at line 5, word 4). 33 In the PML-TQ syntax, $1 refers to the first value among those occurring before the last instruction in the query. In this case, the last instruction is give and the first (and only) value occurring before give is $n1.m/lemma.

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The rows are ordered first by number of occurrences in descending fashion and then by lemma alphabetically (sort by $2 desc,$1). In this case, the output list informs that the most frequent lemma occurring in the position of node $n1 is principium (5 occurrences). The total number of occurrences of this construction in the IT-TB is 20. The full list looks as follows: principium alius idem species bonus communis corpus forma incorruptibilis pervius similitudo unus volo

5 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

As mentioned above, tectogrammatical annotation provides both semantic role labelling and coreferential analysis. Figure 5 shows a query on tectogrammatical data (t-nodes) that exploits these features. The query is shaped as follows: - $n0 is a t-node with lemma sapiens (t_lemma = “sapiens”)34; - $n1 is a t-node labelled with semantic role ACT (Actor) (functor = “ACT”), belonging to the same document of $n1 (arrow: “samedocument-as”) and coreferential with $n0. According to Mikulová et alii35, coreference can be either grammatical or textual. Grammatical coreference (coref_gram) is such a kind of coreference in which it is possible to pinpoint the coreferred expression on the basis of 34 T_lemma is the lemma registered at the tectogrammatical layer of annotation (t). T_lemmas usually correspond to m/lemmas, but exceptions may hold (MIKULOVÁ et alii, Annotation on the Tectogrammatical Layer in the Prague Dependency Treebank, pp. 22-35). 35 MIKULOVÁ et alii, Annotation on the Tectogrammatical Layer in the Prague Dependency Treebank, p. 1100.

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grammatical rules, like in the case of relative pronouns. Textual coreference (coref_text) uses various linguistic means (pronouns, synonyms, generalizing nouns etc.) which function as anaphoric (occasionally, cataphoric) reference devices. This reference is not made by grammatical means alone, but also via context; in those cases where it is possibile to identify its coreferent element, textual ellipsis is considered to be a case of textual coreference. According to PML-TQ syntax, in order to search for the occurrences of a node $n1 with either a grammatical or a textual coreference with a node $n0, the same id of $n0 must be written for $n1 in one of its attributes that report information about coreference (coref_gram.rf or in coref_text.rf); - $n2 is a verb (gram/sempos = “v”)36 that heads $n1 directly or indirectly (‘eparent’ relation). Roughly speaking, this query searches for all those places in the ITTB where sapiens plays the role of Actor of a verb, although this is not explicitly expressed by one occurrence of the lemma sapiens in the text, but by either an anaphoric expression or an elliptical construction. Note that this query cannot be run on analytical data, because they do not provide neither semantic role labelling, nor anaphora and ellipsis resolution.

Fig. 5. A graphical query of tectogrammatical data.

Gram/sempos refers to the grammateme (gram) called ‘semantic part of speech’ (sempos).

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Figure 6 displays a subtree of one of the TGTSs retrieved by the above query.

Fig. 6. The subtree of a TGTS resulting from a query.

The subtree reported in figure 6 corresponds to a portion of the TGTS of the following sentence: «multitudinis usus, quem in rebus nominandis sequendum philosophus censet, communiter obtinuit ut sapientes dicantur qui res directe ordinant et eas bene gubernant» («the usage of the multitude, which according to the Philosopher is to be followed in giving names to things, has commonly held that they are to be called wise who order things rightly and govern them well»)37. The portion of the sentence pictured in figure 6 is the following subordinate clause: «ut sapientes dicantur qui res directe ordinant et eas bene gubernant». The subtree in figure 6 features a grammatical (anaphoric) coreference holding between the pronoun qui and the lemma sapiens, which is made explicit by the arrow that connects the two nodes in the subtree. Consistently with the query, qui is labelled with the ACT functor and depends on a verb. Actually, in this case, qui depends on two coordinated verbs (i.e. qui 37

Textual reference: ScG I, ch. 1, no. 2. Sentence begins at the first word of the first line (1-1) and ends at the first word of the fifth line (5-1).

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depends ‘indirectly’ on these verbs, as echild): ordino and guberno38. In other words, this subtree presents one occurrence of sapiens, represented by a relative pronoun in the sentence and playing the semantic role of the Actor shared by two coordinated verbs. TüNDRA The portion of the IT-TB annotated at the analytical layer is accessible also through the web-based treebank search and visualization application TüNDRA39 (Tübingen aNnotated Data Retrieval & Analysis)40. TüNDRA is a web application for working with treebanks developed as part of the web infrastructure of language resources and tools CLARIN-D and accessible using CLARIN’s single sign-on infrastructure41. Academic users at participating universities are able to log into and use TüNDRA with their existing institutional login credentials, and other academic users can request accounts from CLARIN. TüNDRA allows users to view the syntactic analysis of each sentence in the IT-TB, and to move from one sentence to the next or jump to a sentence by its number in the treebank. Searching in the IT-TB is available by typing a query into a specific box on the main TüNDRA page. TüNDRA uses a query language adapted from the widespread TIGERSearch software42. 38

In TGTSs as well as in ATSs, dependent nodes shared by all the members of a paratactic construction (coordination or apposition) are made dependent on the coordinating (or apposing) element. In this case, qui depends on et because it is a dependent node shared by ordino and guberno (both assigned is_member = 1). 39 S. MARTENS, «Tündra: A web application for treebank search and visualization», in S. KÜBLER – P. OSENOVA – M. VOLK (eds.), Proceedings of The Twelfth Workshop on Treebanks and Linguistic Theories (TLT12), Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia 2013, pp. 133-144. 40 The version of the IT-TB available in TüNDRA is updated twice a year. As the size of the IT-TB is constantly growing, the number of words and sentences in the most recent version of the treebank can differ from that accessible through TüNDRA. Presently, TüNDRA gives access to 205,502 nodes and 11,721 sentences of the IT-TB. 41 CLARIN: Common Language Resources and Technology Infrastructure (http:// de.clarin.eu/). 42 W. LEZIUS, «TIGERSearch - Ein Suchwerkzeug für Baumbanken», in S. BUSEMAN (ed.), Proceedings der 6. Konferenz zur Verarbeitung natürlicher Sprache (KONVENS 2002), DFKI GmbH, Saarbrücken 2002. Available from http://konvens2002.dfki.de/ cd/inhalt/index.html.

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Query results are displayed by highlighting the treebank elements that match the query. Users can browse within query results. To search for the same construction queried by the PML-TQ query reported in figure 3, type the following into the query box: #0:[lemma=“sum” & edge=/.*(\_Co|\_Ap)$/] > #1:[edge=“Pnom”] & #0 > #3:[edge=/(Coord|Apos)/] & #3 > #2:[lemma=“forma” & edge=/Sb(\_Co|\_Ap)$/] This query searches for any node (named #0) with a lemma attribute matching the string “sum” (lemma = “sum”) and labelled with an analytical function ending with the suffix _Co or _Ap (used respectively for members of coordinations and appositions)43. Node #0 governs directly (>) node #1, which is labelled with function Pnom (nominal predicate) (edge = “Pnom”). This part of the query shows one deficiency of the query language used in TüNDRA in comparison to PML-TQ, as TIGERSearch does not provide any operator able to represent the echild relation of PML-TQ44. Thus, indirect descendants cannot be searched in TüNDRA by using just one single operator. One way to overcome this limit is to add auxiliary nodes in the query (namely, those auxiliary nodes that are by-passed by the echild relation in PML-TQ). The query here in question presents one example of such a solution. Node #0 is supposed to govern indirectly a form of the lemma forma labelled with function Sb (Subject) and member of a paratactic construction. In order to represent this in the query, one auxiliary node is added between the governor (#0) and the indirect descendant (#2: lemma forma and function Subject). This node (named #3) a) heads directly node #2 (#3 > #2), b) depends directly on node #0 (#0 > #3), 43

This is represented in the following part of the query: edge=/.*(\_Co|\_Ap)$/. The part included between slashes (/) is a regular expression; .* means “zero or more occurrences of any character”; (\_Co|\_Ap)$ means that the string ends ($) with “_Co” or (|) “_Ap”. Backslash is used to mean that here the underscore character (_) is used in its literal meaning and not as a special character of a regular expression. 44 The echild relation is a property specific of PDT-like treebanks This is the reason why it is not implemented in query languages not directly related to this kind of treebanks.

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c) is labelled with function Coord (coordinating elements), or Apos (apposing elements) (edge=/(Coord|Apos)/). Figure 7 shows the main page of TüNDRA. On the top left of the screen, the “Search” box reports the query discussed above. The right side of the screen shows one of trees resulting from the query, namely the same tree of figure 4.

Fig. 7. The main page of Tündra.

The subtree matching the query is highlighted and nodes are named accordingly to the names assigned in the query. Figure 8 shows a closer view of the subtree.

Fig. 8. A subtree in Tündra.

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Multiple visualization formats of trees are available, providing different perspectives on individual trees and corresponding to different traditions in dependency tree drawing. In particular, TüNDRA provides two visualization styles for dependency trees. The first one, shown in Figures 7 and 8, draws on the visualization style most associated with Word Grammar45. Words are ordered linearly, like on a page, and dependencies are represented as arcs above the words. Figure 9 shows an alternative visualization, based on the approach used in TrEd. The nodes of the tree are arranged horizontally according to surface word order, but, like in TrEd, their vertical placement reflects their place in the dependency hierarchy. In both visualizations, lemmas and parts-of-speech are shown to users, while the full set of morphological features is obscured to prevent screen clutter, but can be optionally viewed by clicking an arrow beneath each token.

Fig. 9. A TrEd-like visualization of a subtree in Tündra.

TüNDRA also provides consolidated statistics for query; users can download the raw result data for further analysis in spreadsheets or other software of their own. For instance, figure 10 shows the statistics for 45

R. HUDSON, Word grammar, Blackwell, Oxford 1984.

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the lemmas occurring in the place of node #2. The number of sentences matching the query is reported in the top left corner of figure 10 (Sent. match: 12). As mentioned above, principium is the most frequent lemma in this position (3 occurrences). Note that these results differ from those provided by the PML-TQ-based query (i.e. 20 sentences matching; principium: 5 occurrences). This is due to the fact that TIGERSearch does not provide an operator for searching indirect dependents, which can result in loss of some results, like in this case.

Fig. 10. Statistics for a query in Tündra.

Except for the lack of a specific operator for searching indirect relations, TIGERSearch fits the needs of searching the IT-TB very well. On the application side, TüNDRA is very efficient, because it is user-friendly and powerful at the same time. It is accessible from any compatible browser, on any computer with an adequate Internet connection, with no particular technical expertise required. Further, since TüNDRA is a web application, treebank size and access speeds are not bounded by the limited memory and storage of desktop computers.

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A Lexical-based Statistical Analysis of the Biblical Commentaries of Thomas Aquinas This section presents a lexical-based investigation of the Biblical commentaries of Thomas Aquinas recorded in the IT. The Biblical commentaries are being compared both to each other and with the major works of Thomas Aquinas. By applying a statistical technique, the texts get automatically organized in such a way that those works that share a relevant amount (and distribution) of meaningful lexical items are considered to be very similar to each other and get collected into closely related groups. In order to detail the lexical similarities and differences holding between the works, a technique able to highlight those words that mostly characterize one or more texts in comparison to the others is applied. Data The Biblical commentaries of Thomas Aquinas concerned in this analysis are those available in the IT. Table 1 reports the titles of the works and their size. Texts are organized into four main groups: (a) commentaries on the Old Testament, (b) Catena Aurea, (c) commentaries on the Gospels and (d) commentaries on the Letters of Saint Paul46. Commentaries on the Old Testament Title of the Work Number of Words In Job 115,239 In Isaiam 100,322 In Hieremiam 58,473 In Psalmos 193,567 In Threnos Hieremiae 12,147 SUBTOTAL 479,748 Catena Aurea Title of the Work Number of Words In Mattheum 269,016 In Marcum 78,115 46

See BUSA, Index Thomisticus for details about the critical editions of the commentaries recorded in the IT.

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In Lucam 191,638 In Johannem 175,419 SUBTOTAL 714,188 Commentaries on the Gospels Title of the Work Number of Words Super Evangelium Matthaei 233,176 Super Evangelium Johannis 320,019 SUBTOTAL 553,195 Commentaries on St. Paul’s Letters Title of the Work Number of Words Super Epistulam ad Romanos 131,357 Super ad Corinthios 1 92,313 Super ad Corinthios 2 65,409 Super ad Galatas 48,078 Super ad Ephesios 48,331 Super ad Philippenses 18,068 Super ad Colossenses 19,190 Super ad Thessalonicenses 1 12,341 Super ad Thessalonicenses 2 8,456 Super ad Timotheum 1 27,755 Super ad Timotheum 2 16,816 Super ad Titum 12,484 Super ad Philemonem 3,082 Super ad Hebraeos 100,964 SUBTOTAL 604,644 TOTAL 2,351,755 Table 1. Biblical commentaries in the IT.

Since one of the analyses reported below compares the Biblical commentaries with a number of other works of Thomas Aquinas (namely, those collected under the label Opera Maiora in the IT), table 2 provides the details for such works.

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Opera Maiora Title of the Work In I Sententiarum In II Sententiarum In III Sententiarum In IV Sententiarum Summa contra Gentiles Summa Theologiae 1 Summa Theologiae 2 Summa Theologiae 3 Summa Theologiae 4 Quaestio disputata de veritate 1 Quaestio disputata de veritate 2 Quaestio disputata de potentia Quaestio disputata de malo Quaestio disputata de spiritualibus creaturis Quaestio disputata de anima Quaestio disputata de unione verbi Quaestio disputata de virtutibus Quodlibeta TOTAL

Number of Words 268,965 296,307 334,431 597,821 325,820 364,484 358,954 513,890 336,106 287,113 114,991 183,562 180,464 35,279 59,920 10,238 80,068 134,152 4,482,565

Table 2. Opera Maiora in the IT47.

Method Two statistical techniques are applied to textual data, namely Clustering and Principal Component Analysis. All the experiments are performed with the R statistical software48. In particular, the “tm” (“text mining”) package49 is used to build and analyze 47 Summa Theologiae 2 and 3 correspond respectively to the first and to the second section of the second part of the work. See BUSA, Index Thomisticus for further details. 48 R DEVELOPMENT CORE TEAM, A language and environment for statistical computing, R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Wien 2012. Available from http:// www.R-project.org/. 49 I. FEINERER – K. HORNIK, tm: Text Mining Package. R package version 0.59, 2007, http://CRAN.R-project.org/ package=tm. I. FEINERER – K. HORNIK – D.

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the document-term matrices that are employed for clustering50. Distance and similarity measures provided by the package “proxy” are used as well51.

Clustering Clustering is a technique that deals with finding a structure in a collection of (un)labeled data. In other words, clustering is the process of organizing objects (named ‘observations’) into groups (named ‘clusters’) whose members are similar in some way. Thus, a cluster is a collection of objects which are ‘similar’ to each other and are ‘dissimilar’ to the objects belonging to other clusters. One of the most tricky issue in clustering is to define what “similarity” means and to find a clustering algorithm that computes efficiently the degree of similarity between two objects that are being compared. Clustering methods can be applied to several different kinds of data, among which are textual data, whose ‘objects’ are occurrences of words in texts. Applying clustering techniques to textual data is usually made for natural language processing purposes like topic classification, data mining, named-entity recognition and word sense disambiguation. As far as word sense disambiguation is concerned, clustering lies on the theoretical assumption stated by Harris’ Distributional Hypothesis, according to which words that are used in similar contexts tend to have the same or related meanings52. This basic assumption is well summarised in the famous quotation of Firth: «You shall know a word by the company it keeps»53. MEYER, «Text Mining Infrastructure in R», Journal of Statistical Software, 25(5) (2008) 1-54. 50 A document-term matrix is a mathematical matrix that holds frequencies of distinct terms for each document. In a document-term matrix, rows correspond to documents in the collection and columns correspond to terms. A term-document matrix is a document-term matrix in which rows and columns are interchanged: rows correspond to terms and columns correspond to documents in the collection. 51 D. MEYER – C. BUCHTA, Proxy: Distance and Similarity Measures. R package version 0.4-10, 2013, http://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/proxy/index.html. 52 Z. S. HARRIS, «Distributional structure», Word, 10 (1954) 146-162. 53 J. R. FIRTH, Papers in Linguistics 1934-1951, London University Press, London 1957.

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Word clustering techniques follow a two-step procedure: 1. classification: each word occurrence is represented as an observation in a matrix and the (dis)similarity of two observations is computed; 2. clustering: some clustering algorithm is applied, such that similar occurrences are grouped together. Among several clustering techniques available, hierarchical clustering is a specific method of cluster analysis which seeks to build a hierarchy of clusters. Hierarchical clustering can be performed by following two main strategies: - agglomerative (bottom-up): each observation starts in its own cluster, and pairs of clusters are merged as one moves up the hierarchy; - divisive (top-down): all observations start in one cluster, and splits are performed recursively as one moves down the hierarchy. In this work, hierarchical agglomerative clustering is applied in order to compute and graphically present the degree of similarity/dissimilarity among texts. As full texts instead of single occurrences of words are here concerned, this led to slightly modify the two basic theoretical assumptions mentioned above: Thus, here it is assumed that a) texts that feature a similar (distribution of the) lexicon tend to address the same or related topics (Harris-revised); b) you shall know a text by the words it keeps (Firth-revised). These two assumptions are reflected in the clustering method, which compares the texts by computing their distance in terms of lexical similarity, as detailed in the following54.

Data cleaning Punctuations and function words are removed from input data. In particular, this concerns (both coordinative and subordinative) conjunctions, prepositions, pronouns and the not-adjectival adverbs (like, for instance, diu, nimis and semper). Since each word in the IT is assigned one tag informing about its flexional type (nominal, verbal, or uninflected), this task was performed automatically. Removing function words reduced the size of input data of 50% on average in all the texts considered in the analysis. 54

Comparison among texts is based on lemmas.

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All the occurrences of the verb sum are removed from data, sum being the most frequent verb in the IT (thus, spread over all the texts in the corpus). Also, all the verbatim quotations are removed, in order to make the analysis focus only on the words of Thomas and not also on those of other authors quoted by Thomas in his texts55. Both these cleaning tasks were performed automatically by exploiting respectively the lemmatization and the annotation of quotations available in the IT.

Hierarchical agglomerative clustering analysis: distance Clustering analysis is run on document-term matrices by using a distance based on the cosine distance d(i; i') = 1 – cos{(xi1, xi2, …, xik), (xi'1, xi'2, …, xi'k)} The arguments of the cosine function in this relationship are two rows, i and i', in a document-term matrix; xij and xi'j provide the number of occurrences of a word j (j =1, …, k) in the two texts that correspond to rows i and i' (“profiles”). Zero distance between two documents (cosine = 1) holds when two documents with the same profile are concerned (i.e. they have the same relative conditional distributions of terms). In the opposite case, if two texts do not share any word, the corresponding profiles have maximum distance (cosine = 0). A complete linkage agglomeration method is run. While building clusters by agglomeration, at each stage the distance (similarity) between clusters is given by the distance between the two elements that are most distant (one from each cluster). Thus, complete linkage ensures that all items in a cluster are within some maximum distance (or minimum similarity) to each other. Roughly speaking, according to this method, works that share a high number of lemmas with similar distribution are considered to have a high degree of similarity and, thus, fall into the same or related clusters.

The verbatim quotations are retained only in the analysis that compares the Biblical commentaries with the Opera Maiora.

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Principal Component Analysis While clustering computes the degree of similarity/dissimilarity holding between two texts, it does not inform about which features distinguish one text from the other. These features are those properties that make two texts more similar (or dissimilar) to each other. As the method here used is highly lexical-based, the features considered are words (in particular, lemmas). In order to know which lemmas distinguish one or more texts from the others, a technique called ‘Principal Component Analysis’ is applied. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) is a method to retrieve a structure built according to one or more latent dimensions. This structure can be defined by using different features: in the case in question, the features considered are lemmas, which are used as bag-of-words representations of texts. Such representations of texts get mapped into a vector space that is assumed to reflect the latent dimension structure. The PCA presentation described by Johnson & Wichern56 is used to produce contribution biplots that graphically represent a vector space57. Starting from an I × J term-document matrix Y (whose values were previously standardized by column, in order to overcome the size differences between texts), a reduction of the column (document) space can be achieved by using PCA and considering dimensions which relate texts that show high similarity in their term distributions. A Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) of Y/(IJ)1/2 is then performed S = Y/(IJ)1/2 = UDbV where U and V are matrices whose columns are respectively the left-singular and the right-singular vectors and Db is a diagonal matrix containing the singular values in decreasing order. The SVD allows to compute the coordinates U for the terms and G = J1/2VDb 56

R. A. JOHNSON – D. W. WICHERN, Applied multivariate statistical analysis, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River NJ 2002. 57 M. GREENACRE, Biplots in Practice, Fundación BBVA, Bilbao – Madrid 2010, p. 67.

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for the documents. By considering the first two columns of U and G, the coordinates with respect to the first two principal components are obtained. The squares of the elements in Db, divided by their total, inform about the amount of variance explained by the principal components. By considering the squared values of the coordinates of terms, their contribution to principal axes is obtained.

Results Figure 11 presents the clustering plot of all the Biblical commentaries of Thomas Aquinas concerned in this analysis. Height 0.0

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In_threnos_Hieremiae.txt In_Hieremiam.txt In_Isaiam.txt In_Job.txt Super_Ad_Philemonem.txt Super_Ad_Galatas.txt

Super_Ad_Thessalonicenses_2.txt Super_Ad_Thessalonicenses_1.txt Super_Ad_Timotheum_2.txt Super_Ad_Timotheum_1.txt Super_Ad_Titum.txt Super_Ad_Colossenses.txt Super_Ad_Ephesios.txt In_Psalmos.txt Super_Ad_Philippenses.txt Super_2_Ad_Corinthios.txt Super_Ad_Hebraeos.txt Super_Evangelium_Johannis.txt Super_Evangelium_Matthaei.txt Super_1_Ad_Corinthios_1_VII.txt Super_1_Ad_Corinthios_XI_XVI.txt Catena_Aurea_in_Lucam.txt Catena_Aurea_in_Marcum.txt Catena_Aurea_in_Johannem.txt Catena_Aurea_in_Matthaeum.txt

Fig. 11. Clustering plot of all the Biblical commentaries.

Cluster Dendrogram

(1 − simil(as.matrix(Commentaria_all_lemmas123_noQL_dtm), method = "correlation")) hclust (*, "complete")

Super_epistolam_ad_Romanos.txt

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According to agglomerative hierarchical clustering, each text starts in its own cluster, and pairs of clusters are merged as one moves up the hierarchy by an always lower degree of similarity. From the clustering plot of figure 11 it looks clear that there are two main clusters, one (A) featuring the four commentaries that form the Catena Aurea and the other (B) including all the other commentaries. In particular, among the four texts of the Catena Aurea, those about the Gospels of Luke and Mark on one side and those about the Gospels of John and Matthew on the other are collected together into separate clusters. The four texts of the Catena Aurea are very much different from the other ones here concerned. As clustering ends once all the texts are collected into one common cluster, figure 11 shows that the four texts of the Catena Aurea are dissimilar from the others at the height of 1.0, which means that they are similar at 0.0. This is not surprising: since the Catena Aurea is made up of excerpts from some eighty Greek and Latin commentators on the Gospels, most of its texts are verbatim quotations (around 97% of the texts), which are removed from input data in the cleaning phase. By loooking in more detail into the cluster that collects all the texts but the Catena Aurea (cluster B), it turns out that four out of five of the commentaries on the Old Testament are clustered apart from the other ones. In particular, the commentaries In Hieremiam and In Isaiam are much similar to each other (being dissimilar at the height of 0.08) and are clustered together with In Threnos Hieremiae, the latter being dissimilar to the former at 0.19 (cluster B.1). Although the commentary In Job does not appear in B.1, it is yet clustered apart from all the other texts that occur in its cluster (B.2). Among the commentaries on the Old Testament, only In Psalmos is clustered together with the commentaries on the Letters of Saint Paul and on the Gospels. In particular, In Psalmos is clustered together with the commentaries on following letters: Super ad Philippenses, Super ad Corinthios 2 and Super ad Hebraeos. Among the commentaries on the letters of Saint Paul, Super Ad Philemonem is clustered apart from the others. PCA is able to detail what makes one text (or group of texts) different from another. As the method here applied is strongly lexical-based, this question concerns the lemmas that distinguish one text (or group of texts) from another. In particular, the analysis here presented wants to answer the question about which lemmas make the commentary In Job different from the other ones included in cluster B.2.

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Super_Ad_Philemonem.txt

0.021

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christus

fides

dico

apostolus pono

Super_Ad_Galatas.txt Super_Ad_Thessalonicens Super_Ad_Timotheum_ Super_Ad_Thessalonicenses Super_Ad_Philippens Super_Ad_Titum.txt Super_2_Ad_Corinth Super_Ad_Hebraeo Super_Ad_Timotheum Super_Evangelium_Johan Super_Evangelium_Matt Super_Ad_Ephesi Super_Ad_Colossense Super_1_Ad_Corinthios_XI_

bonus 0.0

facio habeo

ostendo

Super_1_Ad_Corinthios_ In_Psalmos.txt Super_epistolam_ad_Ro

pecco video −0.2

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Fig. 12. PCA contribution biplot of cluster B.2.

Figure 12 is a contribution biplot that presents the results of PCA performed on the term-document matrix of the works included in B.258. In particular, the biplot in figure 12 represents the rows and the columns of the term-document matrix through a graph whose axes are the first two principal components, since these are able to explain almost 0.92 of the total variance among texts59. The first principal component gets graphically represented on the horizontal axis of the contribution biplot and it is able to explain alone 0.897 of the variance. As all the works considered in this analysis polarize in the same direction (the rightside of the biplot), the first principal component describes a dimension that is common to all the texts involved. 58 In all the contribution biplots presenting the results of PCA, the words appearing in the most central area of the vector (i.e. at height 0.0 on both the axes) were removed for presentation purposes. This area includes all those lemmas that are similarly distributed in all the works concerned in the analysis. 59 In more detail, the first two principal components explain 0.918 of the variance, this proportion resulting from the sum of the explaining power of each of the two components (respectively, 0.897 –horizontal axis– and 0.021 –vertical axis–).

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The second principal component is reported on the vertical axis of the biplot and it explains 0.021 of the variance among texts. This component describes a dimension that is able to detail what mostly characterize one or more texts in comparison to the others. Although the second principal component explains just 0.021 of the total variance among texts, it is yet able to report meaningful differences, which allow to highlight the specific lexical features that distinguish the commentary In Job from the other ones included in B.2. For instance, the verbs habeo and ostendo are placed quite in the center of the vector (around height 0.0 on the vertical axis). This means that these lemmas are common to all the texts and do not characterize any of them in comparison to the others. Instead, the lemmas subdo, hom*o, possum, deus, iob, divinus, video and pecco are moved from the center and characterize In Job, which is set apart from the other commentaries in the biplot60. In order to show better the relations holding among the texts that occur in cluster B, figure 13 reports the results of clustering analysis performed on a subset of B, from which the commentaries Super Ad Philemonem and all those on the Old Testament (except for In Psalmos) were removed. The texts included in this subset are dissimilar at 0.13.

Note that, accordingly to the clustering plot reported in figure 11, Super ad Philemonem appears separated from the other texts also in figure 12.

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Height 0.04

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Super_Ad_Galatas.txt

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Super_Ad_Thessalonicenses_2.txt

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Super_Ad_Titum.txt

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Cluster Dendrogram

Super_Ad_Colossenses.txt

Super_Ad_Philippenses.txt

Super_2_Ad_Corinthios.txt

Super_Ad_Hebraeos.txt

Super_Evangelium_Johannis.txt

Super_Evangelium_Matthaei.txt

Super_1_Ad_Corinthios_1_VII.txt

Super_1_Ad_Corinthios_XI_XVI.txt

Fig. 13. Clustering plot of a subset of the Biblical commentaries.

Figure 13 shows two main clusters, one including the commentaries Super ad Galatas and Super Epistulam ad Romanos (cluster C), the other featuring all the other texts (cluster D). Cluster D is then organized into two subclusters: - the first (D.1) includes the commentaries on both the letters Ad Thessalonicenses and on both those Ad Timotheum. Further, it features the commentary on the letter Ad Titum, this one being much similar to the commentary on the first letter Ad Timotheum; - the second (D.2) is further divided into two subclusters (D.2.1 and D.2.2), showing that the commentaries on the Gospels of John and Matthew are much similar to each other (dissimilar at 0.04) and are more similar to those on the two letters Ad Corinthios than to all the other ones.

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The contribution biplots reported in figures 14 and 15 help to shade light respectively on the lemmas that distinguish the commentaries Super ad Galatas and Super Epistulam ad Romanos from the others (figure 14) and on those that mostly characterize the commentaries on the Gospels of John and Matthew and on the two letters Ad Corinthios (figure 15). In both these analyses, the first two principal components (represented on the horizontal and on the vertical axis respectively) explain a substantial amount of the total variance among texts (0.94: figure 14; 0.945: figure 15). Figure 14 shows the results of PCA performed on the term-document matrix of the works included in clusters C and D.261. It turns out that the commentaries Super ad Galatas and Super Epistulam ad Romanos are characterized by the lemmas apostolus, fides, spiritus, pecco and iudaeus. Figure 15 presents the results of PCA performed on the termdocument matrix of the works included in cluster D.2. The commentaries on the Gospels of John and Matthew and on the two letters Ad Corinthios are distinguished from the other works here concerned by the following lemmas: possum, corpus, dominus, video (these two words are overlapped in the biplot), sacramentum and intelligo. 0.2

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Super_Evangelium_Matt Super_Evangelium_Joha Super_Ad_Colossense Super_1_Ad_Corinthios_XI_ Super_1_Ad_Corinthios_ Super_2_Ad_Corinth Super_Ad_Ephesi Super_Ad_Hebrae

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Fig. 14. PCA contribution biplot of clusters C and D.2. 61

For a better visualization of the results, works included in cluster D.1 were excluded from this PCA.

WHAT YOU CAN DO WITH LINGUISTICALLY ANNOTATED DATA

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Fig. 15. PCA contribution biplot of cluster D.2.

In order to identify the relations holding between the Biblical commentaries of Thomas Aquinas and the other most important works of him, clustering analysis was run on a data set featuring both the Biblical commentaries and the so-called Opera Maiora. Figure 16 reports the plot that results from this analysis.

MARCO PASSAROTTI

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Cluster Dendrogram

Super_Ad_Timotheum_2.txt Super_Ad_Timotheum_1.txt Super_Ad_Titum.txt Super_Ad_Hebraeos.txt Super_Ad_Colossenses.txt Super_Ad_Ephesios.txt Super_Ad_Thessalonicenses_1.txt Super_2_Ad_Corinthios.txt Super_Ad_Philippenses.txt In_Job.txt Summa_Theologiae_4−lemmas.txt Summa_contra_Gentiles.txt Quaestio_disputata_de_veritate_1.txt In_I_Sententiarium.txt Quaestio_disputata_de__potentia.txt Summa_Theologiae_1.txt Quaestio_disputata_de_veritate_2.txt Summa_Theologiae_2.txt Summa_Theologiae_3.txt In_IV_Sententiarium.txt In_III_Sententiarium.txt In_II_Sententiarium.txt Quodlibeta.txt Quaestio_disputata_de_unione_verbi.txt Quaestio_disputata_de_anima.txt Quaestio_disputata_de_spiritualibus_creaturis.txt

Fig. 16. Clustering plot of all the Biblical commentaries and the Opera Maiora.

WHAT YOU CAN DO WITH LINGUISTICALLY ANNOTATED DATA

This experiment was also performed in order to evaluate the clustering method here used. As a matter of fact, the lexical features of the Biblical commentaries are quite different from those of the Opera Maiora. Accordingly, figure 16 shows that clustering analysis manages to organize most of the Biblical commentaries and of the Opera Maiora into separate clusters. In more detail, figure 16 presents two main clusters. The first cluster (A) features the commentaries In Threnos Hieremiae, In Hieremiam and In Isaiam, which are confirmed to be much similar to each other and quite different from the other texts of Thomas. All the other texts are collected together into the second cluster (B), which is further divided into two subclusters. The first (C) includes three quaestiones disputatae (De unione verbi, De anima, De spiritualibus creaturis); the second (D) is divided into one small cluster (D.1), which features only two quaestiones disputatae (De malo and De virtutibus), and a bigger one (D.2), which collects all the remaining texts. D.2 is the most interesting cluster to analyze, because it clearly organizes the works by textual category into two separate clusters: - cluster D.2.1, featuring Biblical commentaries only; - cluster D.2.2, featuring all the Opera Maiora but the commentary In Job, which is clustered quite apart from the other texts included in D.2.2, thus confirming its stand-alone nature among the Biblical commentaries. The method is able to cluster the works by textual category, distinguishing the Biblical commentaries from the Opera Maiora. Such an organization of the works of Thomas Aquinas is again confirmed by the results of PCA applied to the same collection of texts (i.e. Biblical commentaries and Opera Maiora).

MARCO PASSAROTTI

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Fig. 17. PCA contribution biplot of all the Biblical commentaries and the Opera Maiora.

The contribution biplot reported in figure 17 clearly shows two peripheric areas, respectively featuring the quaestiones disputatae De anima and De spiritualibus creaturis (top of the figure) and the commentaries In Threnos Hieremiae, In Hieremiam and In Isaiam (bottom). All the other works are then organized into two main (black) areas: the first area from top is that of the Opera Maiora, while the second is that of the Biblical commentaries. The fourth part of ST stands more or less in the middle between these two areas. Loosely speaking, figure 17 represents the lexical-based map of all the (main) works of Thomas Aquinas.

Conclusion Language resources like annotated corpora, computational lexica and ontologies, as well as NLP tools and systems for querying large amounts of textual data are today widespread among scholars in (computational) linguistics.

WHAT YOU CAN DO WITH LINGUISTICALLY ANNOTATED DATA

The most advanced language resources presently available are made for modern languages and mostly concern texts taken from newspapers. Instead, ancient texts written in Classical languages as well as literary and philosophical texts still undergo a kind of gap, lacking state-of-the-art language resources and tools. This is due both to ‘traditional’ humanists and to computational linguists (among which also some ‘non-traditional’ humanists may hide). Actually, a large number of humanists (particularly, classicists) is still today unwilling both to apply computational methods to textual analysis and to use digital language resources in their every-day work. Computational linguists, in turn, are more prone to develop language resources and NLP tools for living languages, which have stronger commercial, media and social impact. If building new language resources and NLP tools for ancient languages and literary or philosophical texts from scratch still remains a labor-intensive and time-consuming task, today this is simplified by the possibility of exploiting the results of previous similar experiences in language resources development. Such results can be used for porting background theories, methods and tools from one language to another in a rapid and low-cost fashion. However, this task must deal with several specific linguistic features of the texts in question. For instance, as far as philosophical texts are concerned, these features deal both with semantic issues (some words undergo a kind of technical shift of meaning in philosophical texts) and with aspects of lexical selection (high register words are pretty frequent). Further, the absence of native speakers often makes it difficult to choose among different interpretations of the texts. But the work is worth doing. Advanced language resources and NLP tools will help scholars to improve their understanding of philosophical texts. In this respect, this paper has shown «what you can do with linguistically annotated data» by presenting a couple of practical experiments run on the IT-TB and the IT respectively. Hopefully, these experiments demonstrate how much essential is the collaboration between computational linguists (who build language resources) and philosophers (who - should - use them). On purpose, the paper has not presented an in-depth interpretation of the results achieved from clustering and PCA, limiting itself to just describe what the results look like, because this is the task of computational linguistics here: to provide resources, tools and methods able to manage large amounts of textual data as much efficiently

MARCO PASSAROTTI

as possible. These results are now in the hands of philosophers and wait to be interpreted properly. The very aim of this paper is to provide evidence in support of the massive use of language resources and NLP tools in the humanities, also in order to overcome a kind of paradox. Indeed, on one side, one of the first machine-readable corpora ever built was developed out from the Latin texts of a Medieval philosopher, but, on the other, it turns out that classicists and philosophers are today among the humanists most reluctant to use digital resources and tools in their research work. Granted, father Busa was ahead of his time. But, over the last decade, digital technology has entered our life at almost every stage. There is no reason why it should not enter our professional life too, because, as the founder of the Perseus Digital Library, Gregory Crane, often reminds: «it’s not the digital humanities, it’s the humanities in a digital age».

GILBERT DAHAN* THOMAS AQUINAS: EXEGESIS AND HERMENEUTICS

The period during which St Thomas Aquinas composed his philosophical, theological, and exegetical works is without doubt one of the most outstanding eras in the history of western thought. Between 1230 and 1260, the definition of theology as a science1, as distinct from biblical exegesis, was born from intense reflection (and, it is worth noting as an aside, brought about the foundation of what we now call the ‘social sciences’2). One of the most notable consequences is that biblical exegesis itself, in a certain fashion, earned its autonomy from the very fact of this separation, because Scripture was central to the reflection which produced the science of theology. We note that the debate had its modest origins in the prologues to the commentaries on the Sentences in discussions on the nature of theology (which was then understood as being simultaneously the Word of God and a discourse on this Word). In fact, the dissociation was twofold: in the first phase there was the distinction between the science (of theology) and its object; in the second phase, as an indirect result, the distinction between a discourse about God, strictly speaking (our theology, which attempts to speak about God in human terms and in modes controlled by human reason), and a discourse about the Word of God (exegesis, which attempts to analyse the divine Word with the methods provided by human sciences). So Scripture was, as it were, objectivised, allowing for a scientific analysis (and, in the Thirteenth Century, it became possible also to speak of ‘exegesis as science’3). Thomas Aquinas belonged to this pivotal generation: he took part in the final phase of the reflection, or rather, from his Commentary on the Sentences onwards, he contributed brilliantly to bringing it to its fulfilment. But, at the *

Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) et École pratique des hautes études (EPHE), Paris, France. 1 Cf. M.-D. CHENU, La théologie comme science au XIIIe siècle, Vrin, Paris 1969, 3rd ed. 2 See my study «Théologie et politique aux XIIe et XIIIe siècles. Quelques réflexions», Revue d’histoire et de philosophie religieuses, 91 (2011) 507-523 3 Cf. G. DAHAN, L’exégèse chrétienne de la Bible en Occident Médiéval, XIIe-XIVe siècle, Cerf, Paris 1999, especially pp. 108-116.

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same time, he clearly grasped the consequences of the development, this series of dissociations which could result in a fragmentation of learning. Even if a separate theological science and exegetical science had been formed, they needed to be allowed to nourish one another: if biblical exegesis concerns itself with the descent of God towards humanity, then theology, ascending back to God, finds its sustenance in this divine gift. Thus, more than at any other moment in history, hermeneutical reflection was then a necessity for the Christian thinker. It is displayed in St. Thomas with a rare intensity (scarcely to be found in others, apart from his Franciscan ‘adversary’ Peter of John Olieu). Certainly, any study of Aquinas’s exegesis could not be reduced to this hermeneutical reflection4: the exegete himself must also be seen in action, at his work, using all the tools available to him and, above all, all the ever more elaborate techniques of an emerging academic exegesis. However interesting it might be to undertake a detailed study of the procedures employed, such as textual criticism, grammatical analysis, semantics, rhetoric, history, archaeology, and philosophical and theological analysis5, I will confine myself here to considering some of the central points of St. Thomas’s hermeneutical reflection, which are equally the fundamental questions arising in the debates which have already been touched upon: on the proper mode of Scripture, on the borders between literal and spiritual exegesis, on the transition from the letter to the spirit. In fact, these issues are subtly interconnected and can only be examined within the very work of exegesis itself, as has already been suggested6. 4

The great study by M. R. NARVÁEZ, Thomas d’Aquin lecteur. Vers une nouvelle approche de la pratique herméneutique au Moyen Âge, Peeters, Louvain 2012, tackles the question from a philosophical point of view. My outlook here will be limited, and directed towards what pertains directly to the exegesis of the Bible. See also the important work (which, however, neglects the commentaries themselves) of M. ARIAS REYERO, Thomas von Aquin als Exeget, Johannes Verlag, Einsiedeln 1971, and that of M. AILLET, Lire la Bible avec S. Thomas. Le passage de la littera à la res dans la Somme théologique, Éditions universitaires, Fribourg 1993. 5 The elements for such a study will be found in my introduction to the French translations by Jean-Éric Stroobant de Saint-Éloi of Aquinas’s commentaries on the Pauline epistles, all published by Cerf in Paris; see 1 Corinthiens (2002); 2 Corinthiens (2005); Galates (2008); Ephésiens (2012); Philippiens (2014). 6 To situate the commentaries and theological works within the evolution of Thomas’s thought and teaching, see J.-P. TORRELL, Initiation à Saint Thomas d’Aquin. Sa personne et son œuvre, 2ème Édition revue et augmentée, Éditions universitaires de Fribourg Cerf, Fribourg – Paris 2002.

THOMAS AQUINAS: EXEGESIS AND HERMENEUTICS

1. Litteral sense, spiritual sense 1.1. Multiple Senses I will discuss a juxtaposition, rather than an opposition, between the literal and spiritual meanings. As a component of Christian exegesis, this juxtaposition is based on the major presupposition that Scripture is the Word of God, and therefore that the full wealth of the message cannot be confined by mere human forms of expression. In a well-known passage from the beginning of the Summa Theologiæ, St. Thomas cites St. Gregory’s affirmation, which has become the standard point of reference on the topic7: Sacra Scriptura omnes scientias ipso locutionis suae more transcendit, “Sacred Scripture goes beyond all forms of knowledge and teaching even by the mere manner of its style of speaking” (and note that this is immediately followed by the no less famous dum narrat gestum, prodit mysterium)8. This is because the text of Scripture comes from a dual auctoritas: the first is God; the inspired prophet or scribe acts as a secondary, instrumental, auctoritas, writing at God’s dictation and so channelling the transcendent message, translating it and adapting it to human language. The issue of auctoritas was elaborated over the course of the Thirteenth Century9, notably through the adoption, in the prologues to the commentaries, of Aristotle’s four causes –the discussion here being on the causa efficiens. In truth, Aquinas rather preferred the old schema of the accessus (which also carries implications for the auctor)10. But the distinction had been made; thus the prologue to Lamentations takes Ezek 2:9 as for its ‘theme’: Ecce manus missa est ad me, in qua erat liber involutus… The ‘outstretched 7

ST Ia, q. 1, a. 10. On this article, see the commentary by H. D. Gardeil, accompanying his translation La théologie, Ia, prologue et question 1, Desclée, ParisTournai-Rome 1968, pp. 148-154. 8 Gregory the Great, Moralia in Iob XX, I, 1. Ed. by M. ADRIAEN, Brepols, Turnhout 1979, p. 1003 (CCSL, 143A). 9 Cf. A. J. MINNIS, Medieval Theory of Authorship. Scholastic literary attitudes in the later Middle Ages, Wildwood House, Aldershot 1988, 2a ed. 10 On these schemas, see G. DAHAN, «Les prologues des commentaires bibliques e (XII -XIVe s.)», in J. HAMESSE, Les Prologues mediévaux, Brepols, Turnhout 2000, pp. 427-470 [republished in Lire la Bible au moyen âge. Essais d’herméneutique mediévale, Droz, Genève 2009, pp. 57-101].

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hand’ refers to the author, the wisdom of God, who in his benevolence speaks to men; it is the fingers of this hand which write (Thomas is quoting Jer 1:9 and Dan 5:1), and these fingers are «the prophets and other doctors»; in this way, «man, in transmitting divine wisdom, acts exteriorly by his ministry, whilst interiorly, wisdom herself completes the process»11. The ‘theme’ of the prologue to Isaiah, Hab 2: 2-3, is also very revealing: Scribe visum et explana eum super tabulas…; scribe visum refers to the author, who is the Holy Spirit, and his ‘minister’, the tongue of the prophet, who is the instrument (organum) of the Holy Spirit12. This, of course, takes us back to Ps 44:2, Lingua mea calamus scribae velociter scribentis, on which Thomas comments: Here the author of the Psalm, who is the tongue, is presented as though he said: Do not believe me to have written this psalm on my own initiative, but with the help of the Holy Spirit, who employs my tongue as a scribe employs a pen. And so the principal author is the Holy Spirit, 2 Kings 23 [2 Sam 23:2], The Spirit of the Lord speaks by me, as an instrument13.

In the prologue to the Psalms itself, we see a demonstration of the motif of Scripture as surpassing all human science –the other sciences are produced by human reason, Scripture under the spur of divine inspiration; thus «the tongue of man [hence of the human author of the 11

Opera omnia, ed. Vivès, t. XIX, Paris 1876, p. 199: «In auctore designatur benegnitas, unde dicit: Ecce manus missa est. Haec manus sapientia Dei est, qua omnia facta sunt […] Ipsa est quae intellectum aperit ad videndum […] Ipsa est quae linguam expedit ad loquendum […] Ipsa est quae manum dirigit ad scribendum, Dan. v: Apparuerunt digiti quasi hominis scribentis, qui sunt prophetae et alii doctores in quibus sapientiae dona dividimus [?], ut totum quod hom*o tradendo divinam sapientiam exterius agit ministerio, ipsa interius perficiat auctoritate». 12 In Is., ed. Leonina, t. XXVIII, Roma, 1974, p. 3 : «Actor enim Scripture sacre Spiritus Sanctus est […] Spiritus enim loquitur misteria, sicut dicitur I Cor. xiv [2]. Minister ostenditur in scribentis actu ; dicit enim Scribe : fuit autem lingua prophete organum Spriritus Sancti, sicut in Ps. [44, 2] dicitur […]». 13 While waiting for the critical edition, I am using Divi Thomae Aquinatis Expositio in Iob et in primam Davidis quinquagenam, Typ. Virgiliana, Naples 1857, p. 324 : «Hic ponitur actor psalmi, qui est lingua, quasi dicat : non intelligatur quod ex proprio hunc fecerim, sed auxilio Spiritus sancti, qui utitur lingua mea sicut scriptor utitor calamo. Et ideo principalis actor huius psalmi est Spiritus sanctus, 2 Reg. 23 : Spiritus Domini loquutus est per me, quasi per instrumentum».

THOMAS AQUINAS: EXEGESIS AND HERMENEUTICS

biblical texts] is like the tongue of a child who repeats the words which another dictates14». This last image throws light on a theme which Thomas develops elsewhere and which emphasises the richness of Scripture: the fact that the text exceeds our human intelligence. The development is found in an article from the great treatise on prophecy in the Summa Theologiae IIII, «Whether prophets always know the things which they prophesy?» St. Thomas’s answer is no: «In prophetic revelation the prophet’s mind is moved by the Holy Spirit, as an instrument that is deficient (sicut instrumentum deficiens) in regard to the principal agent. Now the prophet’s mind is moved (movetur) not only to apprehend something, but also to speak or to do something»15. This speaking or doing exceed the prophet’s understanding: it is the work of the exegete to make explicit the inspired word or action. This is not to make the exegete superhuman or superior to the prophet: exegesis is a humble science which falls within a tradition – but the exegete benefits from the perspective of history and this placement within a history enables the progressive clarification of the word of God16. This word is presented for understanding and is understood little by little as history progresses. Thomas described the work of exegesis in forceful terms. I will again cite the prologue to Lamentations: the second part of the ‘theme’, the folded book17, provides the opportunity for describing this 14

Ibid., p. 146: «Notandum autem quod aliud est in sacra Scriptura et aliud in aliis scientiis: nam aliae scientiae sunt per rationem humanam editae, haec autem Scriptura per instinctum inspirationis divinae […] Et ideo lingua hominis se habet in Scriptura sacra sicut lingua pueri dicentis verba quae alius ministrat», Ps 44:2 is then quoted. 15 ST II-II, q. 173, a. 4, Utrum prophetae semper cognoscant ea quae prophetant: «Respondeo dicendum quod in revelatione prophetica movetur mens prophetae a Spiritu sancto sicut instrumentum deficiens respectu principalis agentis. Movetur autem mens prophetae non solum ad aliquid apprehendendum.sed etiam ad aliquid loquendum vel ad aliquid faciendum». See La prophétie, 2a 2ae, questions 171-178, transl., notes by P. SYNAVE and P. BENOIT, ed. J.-P. TORRELL, Cerf, Paris 2005, p. 105 (and explanatory notes, pp. 249-250 and pp. 286-293, on the «deficient instrument»). 16 I have endeavoured to show that this idea of progress is central to Aquinas; cf. «Ex imperfecto ad perfectum: le progrès de la pensée humaine chez les théologiens du XIIIe siècle», in E. BAUMGARTNER – L. HARF-LANCNER, Progrès, réaction, décadence dans l’Occident médiéval, Droz, Genève 2003, pp. 171-184 [republished in Lire la Bible au moyen âge, pp. 409-425]. 17 Ed. Vivès, p. 200. The whole of the prologue is remarkable. One’s attention is held by this note too, which brings out the work of the exegete: «Haec involutio

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work. Scriptural exegesis (the unfolding of the book) must be inspired in the same way as the original composition was; this consists of three remarkable steps ordered by God, the first exegete: an opening up of the words of Scripture (Deus aperit Scripturarum verba), a disclosure of the mysteries (revelat occulta mysteria), and a decoding of the metaphors (explicat similitudinem). We observe that this description also solves the problem of the coexistence of the literal and spiritual meanings.

1.2. The Four Senses Theorists have, since the beginnings of Christian exegesis, tried to delineate Scripture’s riches, or, at the very least, to describe the fundamental methods which Scripture employs. Their reflections are evidently the basis of the theories of the multiple senses of Scripture and, more particularly, of the famous theory of the four senses, explored by Henri de Lubac18. In Aquinas’s time, this theory was considered to be ‘canonical’, or at least normative: it was widely accepted. It reached its final form or, more precisely, came to be seen as ‘authoritative’, at the end of the Twelfth or beginning of the Thirteenth Century, notably amongst the group of Parisian exegetes who have come to be referred to as the ‘Biblical-Moral School’. It seems to have been Stephen Langton specifically who endowed the four senses with this authority19 (the masters of the School of Saint-Victor, a generation or two earlier, had a different formula20). It would appear that Spiritus sancti explicatur a sacris expositoribus, quia sacrae Scripturae eodem spiritu sunt expositae quo sunt editae […]». 18 H. DE LUBAC, Exégèse mediévale. Les quatre sens de l’Écriture, 4 vol., Aubier, Paris 1959-1964. 19 See B. SMALLEY, «Stephen Langton and the Four Senses of Scripture», Speculum, 6 (1931), 60-76; R. QUINTO, «Stefano Langton e i quattro sensi della Scrittura», Medioevo, 15 (1989), 107-109; G. DAHAN, «Les commentaires bibliques d’Étienne Langton: exégèse et herméneutique», in L.-J. BATAILLON – N. BÉRIOU – G. DAHAN – R. QUINTO, Étienne Langton, prédicateur, bibliste, théologien, Brepols, Turnhout 2010, pp. 201-239. 20 The triple schema: see notably Hugh of St. Victor, De scripturis et scriptoribus sacris, c. 4, P.L., vol. 175, Paris 1854, col. 4 (historia, allegoria, tropologia); Didascalicon V, 2, Ed. by H. BUTTIMER, Catholic University of America Press, Washington D.C. 1939. p. 95: «Primo omnium sciendum est quod divina scriptura triplicem habet modum intelligendi, id est historiam, allegoriam, tropologiam».

THOMAS AQUINAS: EXEGESIS AND HERMENEUTICS

Langton played a major role in codifying biblical studies (he is notably credited with having created the modern chapter divisions). But I myself am not convinced that, however broad his biblical studies may have been, and especially his commentaries covering a large proportion of Scripture, Langton was a very deep exegetical theorist: as far as the four senses are concerned, he formalised a tradition. Several of his contemporaries, whilst taking account of the four senses scheme, did not hesitate to draw attention to the difficulties and inadequacies in it: only look to certain passages of Peter of Poitiers, Thomas of Chobham or Simon of Tournai, which seem to sow the seeds of a challenge to this scheme21. It seems to have been an artificial and barely functioning codification: the rigorous examination to which St. Thomas submitted it reinforces this impression –even if it is clear, as much in the hermeneutical reflection of Quodlibet VII as in the beginning of the Summa Theologiæ, that he did accept the scheme. But it is advisable to take the form of scholastic disputation seriously: at least in the Faculty of Theology, the opposition of the pro and contra arguments was neither a game nor a schoolroom exercise. If there was still a debate over a point on which all sides were theoretically in agreement, it was not for the enjoyment of the disputatio but because beyond the agreement there was an awareness of the issues raised by a given affirmation. Thus it seems to me that St. Thomas’s discussion on the four senses is a real one, and one with high stakes22. It is principally concerned with the subject of the language of the Bible (the importance of which we will demonstrate later) and with the nature of allegory (the discussion of which concerns the category of the moral sense). The four senses was rescued as a theory, but it seemed to have been somewhat dislocated and put back into joint with other, more essential, systems. The most noteworthy of these systems is that which takes into account the significatio vocum / significatio rerum pairing. Having been clearly set out by St. Augustine23, it was constantly 21

See the clarification which I suggest in «Les quatre sens de l’Écriture dans l’exégèse mediévale», in M. ARNOLD (ed.), Annoncer l’évangile (XVe-XVIIe s.). Permanences et mutations de la predication, Cerf, Paris 2006, pp. 17-40 [republished in Lire la Bible au moyen âge, pp. 199-224]. 22 Quodl. VII, q. 6, art. 2, ed. Leonina, t. XXV/1, Paris – Roma 1996, pp. 29-32. I give a translation of q. 6 in Interpréter la Bible au moyen âge. Cinq écrits du XIIIe s. sur l’exégèse de la Bible, Parole et Silence, Paris 2009, pp. 61-79. 23 De doctrina Christiana I, 2, 2, ed. and transl. by M. MOREAU, notes by I. BOCHET and G. MADEC, Institut d’études augustiniennes, Paris 1997, p. 79.

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revisited in the course of hermeneutical reflection, including under the variant form allegoria in verbis / allegoria in factis (or rebus)24. Several Twelfth Century authors, especially those from Saint-Victor, made this the main line of their exegetical theory. In applying it, the specific status of the biblical text is made explicit: Scripture forms at the same time an enclosed set, whose elements respond to one another and where the meanings can be on the first level (voces referring to res, the former only having the nature of a sign) or the second level (res referring to other res, both of them being real), but also a set which is open to the reality of the res of this world. For proof that the four senses theory was not truly functioning in the work of exegesis, we could equally look to the way in which Thomas tackled a particular scriptural problem. In the Quodlibet III, a question is asked de arcu nubium qui dicitur yris, utrum sit signum diluuii non futuri, «Whether the rainbow [of Gen 9: 13-16] is a sign that there will be no further flood?” Of course, the question is not concerned with the absence of a future flood, but with the very notion that a natural, material, phenomenon could have the function of a sign. This is precisely what the videtur quod non arguments emphasise: the rainbow is a natural phenomenon, similar to other meteorological phenomena; if it were a sign that there would definitely be no further flood, it should only have been given once, but the rainbow is not a rare occurrence. The respondeo asserts that, «Certainly, as for what is said in the Old Testament, the truth of the literal word must be observed in the first place. But since the Old Testament is a figure of the New, often certain things are placed there in such a way that the manner of speaking designates something else in a figurative fashion (ut ipse modus loquendi aliquid figurate designet)». After a proof based on natural science, Thomas ends with the assertion that here Scripture is employing such a modus loquendi and that the rainbow signifies Christ, who protects us from all spiritual floods25. The first videtur quod non argument hangs on the rainbow as a sign; the response to this argument is based on the 24

Cf. A. STRUBEL, «Allegoria in factis et allegoria in verbis», Poétique, 23 (1975), 342-357. 25 Quodl. III, q. 14, a. 1, c., ed. Leonina, t. XXV/2, pp. 288-289: «Dicendum quod in hiis que in Veteri Testamento dic*ntur, primo quidem obseruanda est ueritas litteralis ; set, quia Vetus Testamentum est figura Noui, plerumque in Veteri Testamento sic aliqua proponuntur ut ipse modus loquendi aliquid figurari designet […] Ideo autem scriptura tali modo loquendi utitur, quia per yridem significatur Christus, per quem protegimur a spirituali diluuio».

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scientific proof which preceded it, but one might ask oneself why Thomas didn’t immediately place it in the symbolic mode, since a recourse to Augustine’s division between natural and conventional signs could have provided an easier answer. An in-depth study on Thomas’s understanding of signs would doubtless resolve this problem, but we can be satisfied with a brief explanation, linked to the issues of exegesis. As is frequently the case in his theological works, Thomas comes up against problems born of statements within the biblical texts, and it is always his concern to save the literal meaning in spite of these difficulties. As a secondary consideration, certainly, in this quaestio de quolibet Thomas recalls the necessity of another reading (which he here calls figurative) of the Bible, or at the very least of the Old Testament. Note that the scheme of reference is not the four senses but the binary juxtaposition of the literal and another (spiritual?) meaning. 1.3. Letter and Spirit This quaestio de quolibet necessitates going further than this simple acknowledgment. On the one hand, we can be reassured by noting that beyond the programmatic statements, Thomas engaged in a true exercise of spiritual exegesis (except for the Book of Job where he said that what Gregory the Great had already written on the subject more than sufficed26). Even if, as in all commentaries of exegesis of the University, literal considerations in their widest sense27 make up a far greater proportion of the work than ‘mystical’ passages, the presence of the latter is definitely felt, as much for the Old Testament as the New28. But the relationship 26 In Iob, ed. Leonina, t. XXVI, p. 4: «Intendimus enim compendiose … librum istum qui intitulatur Beati Iob secundum litteralem sensum exponere; eius enim mysteria tam subtiliter et diserte beatus papa Gregorius nobis aperuit ut his nihil ultra addendum videatur». 27 That is to say, as described by, for example, Hugh of Saint-Victor, consisting of littera (grammatical or rhetorical study…), sensus (the historical or institutional context…) et sententia (the theological and philosophical reflection). 28 Here are some examples only taken from the Expositio super Isaiam, which is defined as literal: on Isa 5:1, ed. Leonina, t. XXVIII, p. 39, distinctio on vinea («vinea multiplex : carnalis concupiscentie, fidelis anime, militantis Ecclesie, celestis patrie»); the majority of spiritual interpretations are given as quotations (thus, on Isa 2:10, p. 23, Thomas cites Bernard; on Isa 3:9, p. 27, he cites the Glossa, etc.).

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between a literal and spiritual meaning is not always clear; St. Thomas often highlights problematic cases. It is a matter, of course, of the problem of the ‘hermeneutical leap’, which will be addressed later. It might be wondered whether there wasn’t an attempt to smooth over the transition from the literal to the spiritual by the reduction of one of the elements. This time, it is the commentary on Ps 29:2 which will enlighten us. Domine, eduxisti ab inferno animam meam: it is supposed to be David speaking these words, but, Thomas tells us, «This cannot be literally (ad litteram) understood of David, because he had not been freed from hell when he composed this Psalm. It could be understood of him in a metaphorical sense, as if he were freed from a mortal danger. But it is literally understood of Christ, whose soul was drawn out of hell by God: Ps 15 [:10]: Ne derelinquas animam meam in inferno29». For Thomas, the Christological interpretation of the psalm was a literal one: this agrees with the assertion already discussed on prophetic inspiration: David was expressing, literally, facts which he did not understand and which only the course of history would verify. Let us bring this together with the passage on the rainbow: there, the Christological meaning belonged to spiritual (figurative) exegesis. These differing situations allow for the conclusion that there is neither a rupture of the literal meaning nor an erasing of the spiritual meaning, but that varying biblical texts have different statuses and that the exegete must be attentive to the type of text on which he is commenting. A preliminary typology could be roughly outlined, which would distinguish between the historical books of the Old Testament, entailing a literal reading and an allegorical (figurative) reading; the prophetic books, principally entailing a literal reading (in a Christological sense); and the New Testament, entailing a literal reading and a spiritual (somewhat tropological) reading. The exegete’s first step, therefore, would be to analyse the language of Scripture.

In Psalm. 29, p. 251: «Domine, eduxisti etc. hoc ad litteram non potest intelligi de David, quia non erat erutus de inferno quando hunc psalmum fecit. Potest intelligi de eo secundum metaphoram, quasi liberatus sit a mortali periculo. Sed ad litteram intelligitur de Christo, cuius anima educta est de inferno a Deo, Psal. 15 : Ne derelinquas animam meam in inferno». Note that the Jewish exegesis interprets the verse metaphorically; cf. for example David Qimhi (beg. of XIIIth cent.): «Explanation of hell [she’ol] and of grave: the.Gehenne, i. e. the law of the wicked», in A. DAROM (ed.), Commentary on Psalms (Heb.), Mosad ha-Rav Quq, Jérusalem 1974, p. 71.

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2. Analysis of Scriptural Language 2.1. The Principle of the Analysis of the ‘Modi’ If, for St. Thomas and his contemporaries, the doctrine of the four senses, whilst keeping its authoritative value, seemed insufficient, another hermeneutical system was needed, if not to replace it, then at least to complete it. This system is what can be called the analysis of the modi or of the language of Scripture: it was a complement and not a replacement, as appears in a text from the beginning of the Fourteenth Century, placed after a De expositione sacre Scripture contemporary with Alan of Lille30. Probably copied by a student present at a biblical principium, this short text does indeed juxtapose the list of the four senses, under the most banal form, with a list of seven modes, here called enigmatice obscuritatis genera quibus celatur sacra Scriptura, the list leaving no doubt that it is what is generally designated by the term modi: (genus) poeticum, historicum, propheticum, transsumptivum, imaginativum, comparativum and proverbiale; there are seven modes here, but their number and names are not stable. Although there were antecedants (notably in certain analyses of the language of the Psalms provided in the prologues of commentaries on the book adopting the accessus scheme), this system of modi was definitively born in the discussions around the modus procedendi or tractandi, in the prologues to the commentaries on the Sentences between 1235 and 1260. Aquinas’s contribution to this discussion sets out the terms of the problem clearly. In his prologue to the Sentences, q. 1, art. 5, Thomas asks Utrum modus procedendi sit artificialis, which I propose to translate as «Whether the style is scientific?»31 Evidently, the difficulty lies in saying what the word ‘style’ is referring to: it is at the same time the book of the Sentences 30

Ms. Paris, BnF lat. 614, ff. 21v-22r ; I give the text as an appendix of my study «L’allégorie dans l’exégèse chrétienne de la Bible au moyen âge», in G. DAHAN – R. GOULET (edd.), Allégorie des poètes, allégorie des philosophes. Études sur la poétique et l’herméneutique de l’allégorie de l’Antiquité à la Renaissance, Vrin, Paris 2005, p. 230 [republished in Lire la Bible au moyen âge, pp. 316-317]. 31 In I Sent., ed. P. MANDONNET, t. 1, Lethielleux, Paris 1929, pp. 16-19. Now see A. OLIVA, Les débuts de l’enseignement de Thomas d’Aquin et sa conception de la «sacra doctrina», Vrin, Paris 2006, pp. 328-332: «Nobilissime scientie debet esse nobilissimus modus. Set quanto modus est magis artificialis, nobilior est. Ergo cum hec scientia sit nobilissima, modus eius debet esse artificialissimus».

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and the discipline contained in this book, theology, still understood as the speech of God and speech about God. The first argument heading towards a substantive answer rests on a syllogism: theology is the noblest of sciences; the more a mode is scientific, the nobler it is; therefore the noblest of sciences must use the most scientific mode (artificialissimus); the subsequent arguments allow a definition of this scientific mode: it is based on univocity and prohibits metaphor and enthymeme32. This definition of scientific language concurs in a certain way with what Paul Ricœur said in his reflection on the opposition between speculative and poetic language33. The sed contra is based solely on the presence of scriptural passages implying a rhetorical argumentation. But the solutio takes into account the totality of the data on the issue: the science in question, theology, is revealed; it uses different modes, including the poetic mode, described in terms which recall that, apart from Aristotelian reasoning, the reflection on the language of Scripture was also fuelled by the thought of PseudoDionysius, who provided it with a number of solutions: Since the principles of this knowledge are not proportionate with (non sunt proportionata) human reason in its present state, which ordinarily receives its information through sensitive reality, it must be guided (manuducitur) towards the knowledge of these principles through similitudes with the sensitive world; therefore the mode of this science must be either metaphorical or (sive) symbolic or even (vel) parabolic34.

The response to the third argument highlights well that theology concerns those truths which are beyond reason and that, like poetry, it has recourse to the symbolic mode35. The text also sets out in passing the 32

This is how I translate modus argumentativus. P. RICŒUR, La métaphore vive, Seuil, Paris 1975, pp. 323-384 (the «Thomist doctrine of the analogy of being» takes a center stage there). 34 Ed. MANDONNET, p. 17, ed. OLIVA, p. 330: «Quia etiam ista principia non sunt proportionata humane rationi secundum statum uie, que ex sensibilibus consueuit (Oliva conuenit) accipere, ideo oportet ut ad eorum cognitionem per sensibilium similitudines manuducatur ; unde oportet modum huius scientie esse metaphoricum siue symbolicum uel parabolicum». 35 With this very fine remark on the poetic: «Poetica scientia est de hiis que propter defectum ueritatis non possunt a ratione capi», ed. MANDONNET, p. 18; ed. OLIVA, p. 331. 33

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narrative and argumentative modes, and finds in this variety a basis for the famous four senses36. But what particularly interests us is the fact that the diversity of the modes of Scripture was taken as a given and that the reason for this diversity was sought in the multiplicity of the biblical text’s objectives. This allowed theology, a discourse on God and on the given reality of faith, having become a science, to keep the scientific language – characterised by univocity and resort to division, definition, and synthesis. The prologues to the biblical commentaries provide us with the chance simultaneously to see this theory of modi put into practice and to better grasp some of its distinctive features. The commentary on Lamentations, previously cited, describes the poetic mode: the book is triply enfolded –in the verbal ornamentation, in the depth of the mysteries, and in the variety of the metaphors. As stated, the mode is not a uniform characterisation of a given book but really a key which provides a hermeneutical orientation. Three levels of reading are outlined for the Book of Lamentations: rhetorical study, spiritual exegesis, and analysis of the metaphors –the placing of the analysis of the metaphors confirms the importance which St. Thomas, here as elsewhere, granted them37. The prologue to Jeremiah briefly describes the mode of the book, which is also in the poetic mode: «he proceeds by similitudes and figures, this is the proper mode of prophets»; this remark, as we shall see, is of great importance38. However, it must be realised that a reflection on the mode (in the scheme of the accessus or in the study 36

Ed. MANDONNET, pp. 17-18, ed. OLIVA, p. 329: «Respondeo. Dicendum quod modus cuiuscumque scientie debet inquiri secundum considerationem materie […] Principia autem huius scientie sunt per reuelationem accepta; et ideo modus accipiendi ipsa principia debet esse reuelatiuus ex parte infundentis […] et oratiuus ex parte recipientis […] Oportet etiam quod modus istius scientie sit narratiuus signorum que ad confirmationem fidei faciunt […] Secundum hoc etiam potest accipi quadruplex modus exponendi sacram Scripturam: quia secundum quod accipitur ipsa ueritas fidei, est sensus hystoricus; secundum autem quod ex eis proceditur ad instructionem morum, est sensus moralis; secundum autem quod proceditur ad contemplationem ueritatis eorum que sunt uie, est sensus allegoricus; eorum que sunt patrie, est sensus anagogicus». 37 Op. cit., p. 199: «Est idem iste liber involutus ornatu verborum, unde et metrice descriptus et rethoricis est ornamentis coloratus […] Est etiam involutus profunditate mysteriorum […] Est etiam involutus varietate similitudinum, sicut et ceteri prophetarum libri». 38 Op. cit., p. 67: «Ex officio enim patet modus: procedit enim per similitudines et figuras, qui proprius modus prophetarum est».

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of the formal cause in the scheme of the four causes) does not always lead to a linguistic analysis properly speaking. Thus in the prologue to John it is indeed a question of four modes; but here it is about the ways of coming to the understanding of the truth39 (one step prior, therefore, to the transmission of this truth in written form). The prologue to the Psalms is situated at the crossroads of these two ways: Thomas describes three modes of prophecy; and each one of them gives rise to a particular expression: per sensibiles res (Thomas gives the example of Dan 5:5, the writing on the wall at Belshazzar’s feast), per similitudines imaginarias (Pharaoh’s dreams in Gen 41), per ipsius veritatis manifestationem (the vision of the divine throne in Isa 6:1)40; one is again directed towards the different exegetical procedures (spiritual exegesis, analysis of metaphors, literal theological exegesis). This prologue furnishes us with other precious elements for our enquiry, to which we shall return. We have just seen that the theory of the modi provides a code for reading St. Thomas (and his contemporaries); it seems to me that it also gives us a key, or at least an easier access, to the way in which the masters of the Thirteenth Century understood their work of exegesis. I will give priority to three of these modes, which are named by Thomas in the prologue to the Sentences: the narrative mode, the parabolic mode, and the poetic mode. These appear to me to constitute the backbone of his hermeneutical system. Now we will enter into the concrete details of the work of exegesis.

39 I am using the Marietti edition, S. Thomae Aquinatis in Evangelia S. Matthaei et S. Ioannis commentaria (4th ed., Marietti, Turin 1925), t. II, pp. 1-2: «In hac autem contemplatione Ioannis circa Verbum incarnatum quadruplex altitudo designatur, auctoritatis […] aeternitatis […] dignitatis seu nobilitatis naturae […] et incomprehensibilis veritatis […] Istis enim quatuor modis antiqui philosophi ad Dei cognitionem pervenerunt». 40 Op. cit., p. 146: «Triplex est enim modus prophetiae. Per sensibiles res, Dan. V [5], Apparuerunt digiti, quasi hominis scribentis etc. rex aspiciebat articulos manus scribentis. Per similitudines imaginarias, sicut patet de somno Pharaonis et interpretatione facta per Ioseph, Genes. XLI. Per ipsius veritatis manifestationem, Is. vi [1], Vidi Dominum sedentem super solium excelsum et elevatum etc. Et talis modus prophetiae convenit David [edd. Danieli] qui solius Spiritus sancti instinctu sine omni exteriori adminiculo suam edidit prophetiam». I have corrected the text: the quotation of Is. 6:1 illustrates the third mode; it is about David and not Daniel.

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2.2. The «modus narrativus» This is the mode of the historical books of the Old Testament and the gospels. There have been great advances in ‘narratology’ over the past 40 years and it might be tempting to search amongst the medieval authors for the equivalent of the analyses of the Structuralists (Roland Barthes or the Entrevernes Group) or advocates of the literary approach to sacred texts (such as Northrop Frye, Robert Alter et al.). This is, it seems to me, not a completely outrageous suggestion, in so far as Structuralists and ‘Literists’ are only rediscovering standard procedures of traditional exegesis –which is linked to the Christian medieval commentators, obviously including Aquinas. The most prominent of these procedures are: 1. Contextual analysis (in contrast to the scientific exegesis which breaks the sacred text up into micro-units of different origins, the two movements discussed above and Thirteenth Century exegesis place the greatest emphasis on the situation of the given text, not only in its immediate context but also in its intertextual relationship, bringing the whole of Scripture into play –we find there the hermeneutical presupposition of the fundamental unity of the biblical text, Old and New Testaments mixed in together); 2. The analysis of the structure of the text, which draws lessons from within the construction of the text itself (in the Thirteenth Century context, the technique of divisio textus41). However, even beyond the questions of forms of expression (e.g. vocabulary or processes of exposition), there are also profound differences, even if only because traditional exegesis acknowledged the inspired character of the sacred texts. A more extensive comparison would go too far, but there seems to be some merit in having drawn the parallel. A single example will suffice, the story of the demoniacs in Matt 8: 28-3442. First, a reminder of how the prologue to the Sentences justifies the modus narrativus. As a mode of revelation, it is based on the credibilia ex 41

On the importance of the divisio, see M. M. ROSSI, «La divisio textus nei commenti scritturistici di S. Tommaso d’Aquino : un procedimento solo esegetico?», Angelicum, 71 (1994) 537-548; and more generally G. DAHAN, «Le schématisme dans l’exégèse mediévale», in C. HECK (ed.), Qu’est-ce que nommer? L’image légendée entre monde monastique et pensée scolastique, Brepols, Turnhout 2010, pp. 31-40. 42 The choice of this example is clearly not an accident; the episode of the Gerasene demoniac (Mark 5:1-20) is at the heart of the volume Analyse structurale et exégèse biblique, R. BARTHES – F. BOVON (eds.), Delachaux et Niestlé, Genève 1971.

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doctrina predicantis, “things to be believed in the teaching of the preacher”. Since a certain number of truths are beyond the direct perception of the human intellect, just as in Physics principles are inferred from observation of the physical world, so the truth of the preacher is confirmed by the relating of miracles; from which is derived what Thomas called the modus narrativus signorum ad confirmationem fidei ; the pointed narrativus signorum inviting the reader not to be satisfied with a passive reception of the narrative but in addition to undertake immediately his own work of interpretation (signa, of course, is to be understood as ‘miracles’, but the miracle is then a sign to interpret). Matthew’s story of the Gadarene demoniacs is first linked to its context43: «Once the miracles in which the Lord delivered several people from exterior perils have been told, here are placed those in which people are liberated from interior or spiritual perils». The exterior perils were leprosy and various illnesses; here attention is drawn to the fact that the Gadarene demoniacs were spiritually attacked, in contrast to the numerous demoniacs whom Jesus cured in verses 16-17, whose illness is considered to be on the same level as other exterior dangers. What is fascinating is that the exegesis of the story unfolds on two different levels: on the one hand, there is the level of formal analysis, which is particularly expressed through the divisio and the questiones. Although not of huge hermeneutical interest, the divisio nevertheless helps to stress the spiritual aspect of the illness since it brings out the demons’ cruelty, impatience, and spitefulness44. The questiones are based on the process of intertextuality: the connection with the corresponding accounts in Mark 5:1-20 and Luke 8: 26-39 (which talk of a single possessed man), the relationship with 1 Cor 2:8 (and the issue of the link between responsibility and knowledge), the eschatological dimension arising from the link between verse 29 (Quare venisti ante tempus torquere nos) and Matt 25:41 (Ite, maledicti, in ignem eternum) etc. On the other hand, the exegesis also unfolds on another level, which could be called that of symbolic interpretation. Thomas establishes two main themes in the story: the demons and the pigs. The movement from one to the other provides a key to the narration: the demons are the 43

Ed. Marietti, t. I, pp. 124-125. Ibid. p. 124: «[…] hic ponuntur miracula quibus fit liberatio a periculis interioribus sive spiritualibus. Et primo ponitur miraculum, secundo effectus […] Et circa primum primo ostenditur malitia daemonum quantum ad saevitiam quam in homines exercent; secundo quantum ad impatientiam, ibi: Et ecce clamaverunt etc.; tertio quantum ad nequitiam, quia animalibus brutis nocuerunt, ibi: Daemones autem rogabant eum etc.». 44

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perverse tendencies within man, enumerated in the divisio; the pig, a totally base animal, is the only creature which the devil can totally destroy45: it is therefore the visible manifestation of the perversity which was previously hidden; once unmasked, it can be eradicated. It is indeed about an interior, spiritual, peril, and its healing. Thus this ‘symbolic’46 level of interpretation allows for a moral interpretation, which transcends the simple morality of the story and, in bringing its structures up to date, draws the most readily applicable teaching from it. This example might provide a possible answer to the problem of the transition towards a spiritual exegesis.

2.3. The «modus parabolicus» The problems tied to parable and to the modus parabolicus are most gripping for anyone interested in the mechanics of exegesis. Thomas delivered his reflections on the parable in three main sections of his work. In the prologue to the Sentences firstly, he underlines the necessity of the use of similes, since the principles of theology are beyond human reason, which receives its information especially from the sensitive world. The language which expresses similitude is that of metaphor or of symbol and that of parable47. We may not find a very precise definition here, but let us at least note that the parable serves to express realities beyond sensitive human experience. Many other passages confirm this, notably q. 42 of the IIIa, Utrum Christus omnia publice docere debuerit, which speaks of it being useful for the crowd «to be instructed in the knowledge of spiritual things, albeit hidden under the garb of parables», sub tegumento parabolarum spiritualium doctrinam audire. The second place which contains a reflection on parable is in the prologue to the Summa Theologiæ: how to reconcile the parable with the traditional four senses? Is it not an additional sense? The answer to this argument relies on the fact that the parabolic meaning belongs within the literal meaning, for things are 45 Ibid., p. 125: «[…] in quo denotatur quod nullus a diabolo totaliter potest extingui, nisi porcum se exhibeat, id est totaliter immundum». 46 On the use of the notion of symbol in the study of medieval exegesis, I refer to my study: «Symbole et exégèse mediévale de la Bible», PRIS-MA. Recherches sur la littérature d’imagination au Moyen Âge, 26 (2010) 3-31. 47 Sent., prol. q. 1, a. 5, ed. MANDONNET, pp. 17-18, ed. OLIVA, p. 330 (text cited supra n. 34).

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signified both properly and figuratively within the literal meaning48. The parabolic sense, whilst belonging to the literal sense, is nevertheless a vehicle of transcendent truths. Note also another passage from the Summa Theologiae, Prima Pars, q. 111, art. 3: the response to the fourth objection affirms that the similitudines caused to appear in the imagination by angels do not lead people into error any more than Christ led anyone into error when he presented in parables many things which he did not explain49; this brief remark thus sets the parable as text requiring interpretation. The third, and fullest, exposition of the doctrine is the commentary on Matthew 13, a chapter in which Jesus speaks seven parables. Thomas gives no theory of parable here, but the very work of the exegete enlightens us50. Thomas first explains why Jesus spoke in parables: on the one hand it was suitable to hide sacred realities from unbelievers; on the other hand, parables allow for the education of the coarse masses. This implies two levels of the exegetical framework: 1. a narrative approach but one which contains a teaching within itself; 2. a deeper study to decode the abscondita (but not proceeding along the sense of spiritual or mystical exegesis) –this links back to what was said in the prologue to the Sentences on the means which allow the inexpressible to be expressed. The next affirmation, on the multiplicity of parables, also has two points: 1. diversity is necessary so that teaching may be adapted to different personalities (ut congrueret diversis affectibus); 2. the multiplicity of parables is indispensable, since spiritual mysteries cannot be made totally manifest in temporal realities (spiritualia occulta non plene manifestari possunt per temporalia); in support of this assertion, Thomas cites Job 11: 5-6: «But oh, that God would speak, and open his lips to you, and that he would tell you the secrets of wisdom! For he is manifold in understanding»51. The passage on the multiplicity of 48

ST I, q. 1, a. 10, arg. 3. Utrum angelus possit immutare imaginationem humanam: «Ad quartum dicendum quod angelus causans aliquam imaginariam visionem, quandoque quidem simul intellectum illuminat, ut cognoscat quid per huiusmodi similitudines significetur ; et tunc nulla est deceptio. Quandoque vero per operationem angeli solummodo similitudines rerum apparent in imaginatione : nec tamen tunc causatur deceptio ab angelo, sed defectu intellectus eius cui talia apparent. Sicut nec Christus fuit causa deceptionis in hoc quod multa turbis in parabolis proposuit, quae non exposuit eis». 50 Ed. Marietti, t. I, pp. 181-201. 51 The commentary on these verses, in the Expositio in Iob, ed. Leonina, pp. 75-76, describes the deficient character of human reason, which can only know the 49

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parables gives us a fitting description of one of the foundational principles of Midrashic Jewish exegesis, the working out of a reality beyond human experience though a multitude of short narratives (aggadot or meshalim). Thomas had only a second-hand knowledge of Jewish exegesis but he knew Scripture perfectly and his intelligence and sensitivity (helped, of course, by a long tradition) allowed him to rediscover some fundamental mechanisms of exegesis in Jesus’s time and Jesus’s own exegesis52. Be that as it may, the commentary on the chapter itself puts into practice the principle of diversity, since Thomas takes into account the set of parables as a whole, which, he tells us, contains a teaching relative to the truth of the gospel, the divisio highlighting the obstacles, progress, and dignity of the doctrina evangelica (note in passing that this divisio is that of many of the recommandationes sacrae Scripturae). Turning to the exegesis on the parables themselves, there is something quite surprising. Many parables, as we know, were explained by Jesus himself; Matthew 13 is thus composed of two categories of text whose statuses differ: parables and explanations of parables. Thomas comments on the explanations in an extremely literal way; but the parables themselves are explained as allegories. This leads to several observations. The first concerns the status of the modus parabolicus and its relation to allegory; specialists from Adolf Jülicher onwards have shown essential differences between the two; in an excellent study, Michel Le Guern cites Clement of Alexandria saying that one should «only consider the principal subject and pay attention to nothing but the goal and spirit of the parable, gliding over the words when they err in certain respects»53; on the contrary, Thomas notes in his commentary on Matthew 13 that singula verba habent magnam significationem, as is also the case in allegory. I do not think that he was misinformed: the issue of literary genres in the Bible was well debated by the Thirteenth Century authors (even if the exact terms used invisibilia Dei through creation and which cannot come to a complete understanding of the ordo of creatures. Note that the prologue to Job mentions Maimonides’ thesis which sees a parable in this book, in order to break away from it, but in observing that this issue is unimportant. 52 For the use of the categories of Jewish exegesis in medieval Christian exegesis, see DAHAN, Lire la Bible au moyen âge, pp. 37-45. 53 M. LE GUERN, «Parabole, allégorie et métaphore», in J. DELORME (ed.), Parole – figure – parabole, Presses Universitaires, Lyon 1987, pp. 23-35, here p. 26; the quotation comes from Diderot’s Encyclopedie.

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to define them are different from ours); when Thomas strongly maintains that parable belongs to the literal sense, he thereby clearly differentiates it from allegory, which properly belongs to spiritual exegesis. Apart from the point of view which will be suggested in the last part of this presentation, this treatment may be explained in another way, and this is our second observation: Jesus’s explanation of the parables uses the categories of rabbinical exegesis (the mashal, ‘parable’, gives an interpretation but must itself be interpreted), Thomas’s explanation uses the categories of Christian exegesis (dissociated from Jewish exegesis by the recourse to allegory). The parable therefore has a twofold status in Thomas’s exegesis: on the one hand that of a mashal explained by Jesus, on the other hand that of an account belonging to a sacred text and therefore having to undergo the same type of interpretation as the other elements of that sacred text. This twofold status suffices for the exegesis of parables to be considered as having a specific modus54.

2.4. The «modus poeticus» Although the modus poeticus is the object of some penetrating analyses by St. Thomas, we will be brief on this point. Several key terms allow us to outline this modus, notably metaphor and symbol, the generic approach being that of similitudo, a term which must be translated in its widest sense55: comparison, analogy, or quite simply similitude. As much in the prefaces to the biblical commentaries as in the Sentences and the Summa, the modus poeticus is presented as the proper mode of the prophetic books, whence its importance. The most remarkable thing about it is precisely that it should be one of the modes of biblical language. Poetry, here and throughout the work of Thomas, appears to be the discipline which is the most opposed to theology – and rightly so since it is mere fiction. But theology and poetry have this in common: that they exceed the limits of human reason, poetry through a lack of truth and theology through an excess of it. Both, therefore, must go beyond rational language and appeal to the resources of metaphor, symbol, and similitude. Quodlibet VII is concerned with the relation between theology and poetry, both of which have recourse to 54 55

It will be necessary to deepen the analysis on this point. On the understanding that it often designates metaphor more precisely.

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metaphorical language. Leaving aside the observation that one is truth and the other fiction, the questioning retains its force if we place it back into the movement which, from the Twelfth Century, aimed to seek a philosophical or moral truth beyond the integumenta of secular fables56. If, in the Twelfth Century, the movement prudently kept away from the field of theology, in the Thirteenth Century the revival in Dionysian thought allowed it to become incorporated into the domain of the sacred and, thus, to declare the possibility of poetic language being present in the holy books, language which was alone capable of saying the unsayable, that is to express truths which transcend reason, on the condition, however, of requiring a work of interpretation on the part of the reader. By way of example, we cite the particularly interesting remark which Aquinas makes in his commentary on Job 1:6: Lest anyone think that the adversities of just men happen apart from divine providence and because of this might think human affairs are not subject to divine providence, it is first explained how God has care of human affairs and governs them. This is set forth in symbol and enigma according to the usual practice of Holy Scripture, which describes spiritual things using the images of corporeal things […] Now, even though spiritual things are conceived using the images of corporeal things, nevertheless what the author intends to reveal about spiritual things through sensible images do not pertain to the mystical sense, but to the literal sense because the literal sense is what is first intended by the words whether properly speaking or figuratively57. 56

See notably M.-D. CHENU, «Involucrum. Le mythe selon les théologiens mediévaux», Archives d’histoire doctrinale et littéraire du Moyen Âge, 22 (1955) 75-79; É. JEAUNEAU, «L’usage de la notion d’integumentum à travers les gloses de Guillaume de Conches», Arch. d’hist. doctr. et litt. du Moyen Âge, 24 (1957) 35-100; P. DEMATS, Fabula. Trois études de mythographie antique et mediévale, Droz, Genève 1973; P. DRONKE, Fabula. Explorations into the Uses of Myth in Medieval Platonism, Brill, Leiden 1974. 57 Ed. Leonina, p. 7: «Et ne quis putaret adversitates iustorum absque divina providentia procedere et per hoc aestimaret res humanas providentiae subiectas non esse, praemittitur quomodo Deus de rebus humanis curam habet et eas dispensat. Hoc autem symbolice et sub aenigmate proponitur secundum consuetudinem sacrae Scripturae, quae res spirituales sub figuris rerum corporalium describit […] Et, quamvis spiritualia sub figuris rerum corporalium proponantur, non tamen ea quae circa spiritualia intenduntur per figuras sensibiles ad mysticum sensum sed litteralem, quia sensus litteralis est qui primo per verba intenditur, sive propria dicta sive figurate».

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So we have a magnificent summary of Thomas’s hermeneutics, which integrate symbol and enigma into the literal sense, «specifically concerned first of all with the words themselves», the exegete’s mission is therefore to distinguish the proper sense from the figurative sense.

3. The hermeneutical leap It may seem that the theory of the modi sidesteps the problem of the ‘hermeneutical leap’, the transition from the letter to the spirit, a problem which seems to be amongst the most difficult and most important in Christian hermeneutics. How may this transition be explained? Certainly, we could be content with an affirmation of faith, which would recall the central place of Christ within the whole of Christian thought. But medieval exegesis (especially in the Thirteenth Century) was at the same time ‘confessing’ and ‘scientific’, in so far as it endeavoured to subject the fact of Revelation to reason or, at least, to integrate it harmoniously into a unit in which reflection, research, and reason also had their place. The theory of the modi could, in effect, allow such an extension of the literal sense that the spiritual sense would be completely engulfed within it –and this would particularly be the case in the exegesis of the prophetic books. And yet, it remains true, as we have already observed, that Thomas gave mystical interpretations, whose veracity and validity he upheld, which imply the ontological rupture of this leap from the letter to the spirit. His work does not contain a theory of the ‘hermeneutical leap’, but quite a number of elements contribute towards an explanation: we look to scattered reflections, not necessarily in the commentaries, above all around questions linked to metaphor and allegory.

3.1. The operation of metaphor Does the operation of metaphor provide a response to the problem of the ‘hermeneutical leap’? In a previous work58, having tried to dispel an 58

G. DAHAN, «Saint Thomas d’Aquin et la métaphore. Rhétorique et herméneutique», Medioevo, 18 (1992) 85-117 [republished in Lire la Bible au moyen âge, pp. 249-282].

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initial ambiguity and establish that metaphor is first of all a figure whose decoding belongs within literal exegesis, I endeavoured to show that the very mechanism of metaphor, as occasionally described by St. Thomas, provided an explanation, by a sort of second degree analogy. Just as to explain a metaphor one uses analogical reasoning, so the operation of the transition to a spiritual sense supposes an analogical mechanism of a similar nature. If one wants to explain, for example, the metaphor of the lion for God, beyond the simple figure of style, one must resort to an analogy of a philosophical type, the nature of which in the thought of St. Thomas has been well studied59. Can one transpose this reasoning to spiritual exegesis? Amongst the arguments used to support this line of thought, the strongest is probably that which places in the centre of the two movements (metaphor and spiritual exegesis) the equivocal character of the referents and the impossibility of an essential equivalence: in the example given there is, on the one hand, no relation of equality between a lion and God and, on the other hand, a man could equally well be compared to a lion in a metaphor and God could equally well be designated by the metaphor of a rock or a stone etc. In the same way, in Christological exegesis on the character of Jacob, for example, it goes without saying that the historical person Jacob is not Christ (because the literal sense exists in its fullness) and that Christ can be the countertype of other characters (Abraham, Isaac, Moses etc.); on the other hand, there is almost never a constant univocity in typology: even Moses, figure of Christ par excellence, can be a negative figure (for example, when, at the waters of Meribah he doubts for a brief moment, he then becomes a figure of the Jewish people). The relation of analogy is at play in the case of metaphor and that of spiritual exegesis: since at least the Twelfth Century, theoreticians have been repeating over and over again that the spiritual sense may not be developed arbitrarily and that it must stem from precise symmetries. Is the spiritual sense then to be considered in some way as a metaphorical reading60? One would then have not an 59

See for example, B. MONTAGNES, La doctrine de l’analogie de l’être d’après saint Thomas d’Aquin, Publications Universitaires – Nauwelaerts, Louvain – Paris 1963. 60 Metaphor does indeed belong to the literal sense; a remarkable example is provided in the commentary on Is. 4:6, ed. Leonina p. 35, in which Thomas opposes his own, literal interpretation, («hic describit idem beneficium per metaphoram tabernaculi»), with the spiritual one of the Gloss, («Glosa autem tangunt duplex misterium. Quidam exponunt septem mulieres pro ecclesiis…» –the second interpretation sees in the seven women the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit).

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explanation but only a description. Is it possible to go further, still working from the hermeneutical thought of St. Thomas?

3.2. The problem of allegory The other area which will prove a suitable avenue for study is that of allegory, the term here designating not the rhetorical figure but the process of exegesis taken as a whole, as seen in Ia q.1 art.1061 as well as in various other passages. The term allegoria is not taken at random: it is that which is found in the very origins of Christian exegesis, in Gal 4:24, a verse on which Thomas, as other commentators, provides a little hermeneutical development62. We will consider a few elements: the classical definition of allegory 63; a reminder that allegoria is sometimes used to designate mystical exegesis in general and sometimes to designate one of the spiritual senses64; and finally, the placing of metaphor (situated within the literal sense) and allegory on different levels from one another 65. This latter point is probably the most important for us: even if literary theorists remain vague over the relationship between metaphor and allegory, the dissociation used by Thomas and a number of his contemporaries makes it necessary for us to refine the analysis. Whereas, on account of the analogy of proportion, metaphor is rooted in some way in the literal, allegory completes the break between signifier and signified. Futhermore, we note than in metaphor one of the two terms does not exist in reality (e.g. the goat symbolising the king of Greece in Dan 866), while in (biblical) allegory both terms exist (e.g. Jacob and Christ). The non-existence of one of the terms forces one to find 61

«Sola allegoria […] pro tribus spiritualibus sensibus ponitur». In Gal., pp. 620-621. 63 «Allegoria est tropus seu modus loquendi quo aliquid dicitur et aliud intelligitur». 64 «Attendendum est quod allegoria sumitur aliquando pro quolibet mystico intellectu, aliquando pro uno tantum ex quatuor […]». 65 «Per litteralem sensum potest aliquid significari dupliciter, scilicet secundum proprietatem locutionis, sicut cum dico hom*o ridet; vel secundum similitudinem seu metaphoram, sicut cum dico pratum ridet. Et utroque modo utimur in sacra scriptura […] Et ideo sub sensu litterali includitur parabolicus seu metaphoricus». 66 This is the very example which Thomas gives, Quodl. VII, q. 6, a. 2, ed. Leonina, p. 29. 62

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a meaning on the same level, whereas the existence of the two allows for one framework to be superimposed on another.

3.3. Christology and History Therefore allegory, in its widest sense, seems to provide the best description, if not the explanation. Could the explanation itself be provided in expressions such as ratio allegorica or causa allegorica (and similar turns of speech)? We find for example in the respondeo to Ia-IIae q. 102 art. 3, recourse to the causa figuralis sive mystica to justify the ceremonial laws of the old Law, in so far as they were formulated in reference to Christ67. Another type of expression may also contribute to this explanation: the terms which concern adaptation68, the most important being the verb aptare. For example, in Question 4, art. 1 of Disputed Questions de Potentia, on a scriptural topic, Thomas points out that salva circ*mstantia litterae, other senses can be adapted (and it is in reference to this that he states the adage sub una littera multi sensus, on which much has been written and which has excited some perhaps vain discussion on the plurality of literal senses). It is most striking that in this article Thomas opposes the ipsa rerum veritas with Moses’ exposition on the origins of the world69. How do things stand then with the truth of Scripture? The solution seems to be that which was suggested from the beginning, albeit briefly. Scripture is the Word of God, which speaks eternally and takes shape within human history. The text can be considered from an 67 ST I-II, q. 102, a. 3, Utrum possit assignari conveniens ratio caeremoniarum quae ad sacrificia pertinent, resp.: «Dicendum quod […] caeremoniae veteris legis duplicem causam habebant : unam scilicet litteralem, secundum quod ordinebantur ad cultum Dei; aliam vero figuralem sive mysticam, secundum quod ordinebantur ad figurandum Christum». 68 I clearly do not mean the «accomodatory sense» fashionable at the beginning of the Twentieth Century. 69 De Pot. q. 4, a. 1, Utrum creatio materiae informis praecesserit duratione creationem rerum, resp.: «Dicendum quod, sicut dicit Augustinus, circa hanc quaestionem potest esse duplex disceptatio: una de ipsa rerum veritate, alia de sensu litterae qua Moyses divinitus inspiratus principium mundi nobis exponit» and further on: «Omnis veritas quae, salva litterae circ*mstantia, potest divinae Scripturae aptari est eius sensus».

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objective standpoint –a stable point of reference which directs man’s conduct– and from a subjective point of view –a speaker who addresses man in his particular historical situation. In Thomas’s work, in his exegetical reflection, Christ is the causa figuralis that gives the text its truth –this ancient story speaks of Him, it is an ever-current word, immersed in human history70. These seem to be the major themes in Aquinas’s hermeneutics. Other aspects have been neglected, particularly the question of symbolism, and, on another level, the relationship with Pseudo-Dionysius’s and Maimonides’ exegeses. These are not minor points: explicitly for one and implicitly for the other, Pseudo-Dionysius and Maimonides enrich certain aspects of Thomas’s exegetical thought, or at least lead him to exercise his perspicacity. However that may be, it seems indeed that the question of the relationship between the literal sense and the spiritual sense is at the heart of St. Thomas’s reflection. The Word of God is the object of an objective analysis (which appears clearly in the commentaries on the Pauline letters), which integrates into itself its scientific dimension71, while always being received within an approach of faithful profession. In this way, various paths are opened, from which contemporary exegetes could profitably borrow72. Translated from the French by Catherine Wallis-Hugues

See for example for the Psalms: P. ROSZAK, «Collatio sapientiae. Dinámica participatorio-cristológica de la sabiduría a la luz del Super Psalmos de santo Tomás de Aquino», Angelicum, 89 (2012) 749-769. 71 Cf. T. F. TORRANCE, «Scientific Hermeneutics according to St. Thomas Aquinas», Journal of Theological Studies, 13 (1962) 259-289. 72 I would like to see in this present work the outline of a more ambitious project, which, in addition to undertaking a description of the procedures of Thomistic exegesis (an aspect which has not been taken into account here), would go further in the analysis of hermeneutical principles. – I would like to thank warmly Ms. Catherine WallisHugues for having translated this study; she has also translated most of the quotations.

ELISABETH REINHARDT* THOMAS AQUINAS AS INTERPRETER OF SCRIPTURE IN THE LIGHT OF HIS INAUGURATION LECTURES

1. Introduction The reception of Thomas Aquinas through the centuries has its own history and is still object of research. It shows that transmission has often been accompanied, if not conditioned, by interpretations according to particular interests or viewpoints, by a partial use of texts or by not paying attention to the context. As a consequence, it has not always been easy to distinguish between Thomas and Thomism. A parallel problem has been the slow development of critically secure texts. These problems, once detected, called first of all for a serious historical treatment. In fact, there have been considerable advances in historical knowledge of Aquinas, especially from the middle of the twentieth century onwards1. At the same time, and with the help of historical research, efforts have been made in approaching his real identity, which had become somewhat blurred by an excess of reading him through interpretation. According to Jean-Pierre Torrell, this new line of research has led to important results. It has highlighted a very simple fact of primary importance: that Thomas Aquinas is first of all and principally a theologian, who also achieved an enormous philosophical knowledge which is both different from and integrated in his theological work according to necessity. The one-sided insistence of neo-thomists on the perennial aspect of his doctrine has been corrected by showing him as a man of his time, involved in discussions and the solution of problems, and by distinguishing between texts of temporal significance and those of permanent value. In contrast with a one-sided methodological view of Aquinas, stressing only his speculative skill, recent research has shown him to be an outstanding positive theologian, who also pays serious attention to historical truth. And, *

Professor of Historical Theology (until retirement in 2007), Faculty of Theology, University of Navarra, E-31080 Pamplona (Spain), [emailprotected] 1 Cf. E. ALARCÓN, «Advances in our historical knowledge of Thomas Aquinas», Anuario Filosófico, 39 (2006) 371-399.

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according to Torrell, there is another important aspect, hardly considered in analyses of his life and work, which is spirituality, or in other words, Saint Thomas as a «spiritual master» 2. The recent historical studies about Thomas Aquinas and his work present him as a theologian whose primary interest and principal source is the Bible. By examining this aspect in his systematic work, such as the Summa Theologiae, it can be observed that the scriptural quotations are not a mere technical instrument but the frame of reference and the source of theological argumentation3. Together with these findings, there has been a notable increase in appreciating his specifically biblical work, which comprises at least as many pages as his systematic treatises. Apart from the quantity of production, Thomas Aquinas has lectured and written about the Bible during his entire life, beginning with Jeremiah and Isaiah when he was cursor biblicus at the Studium Generale of Cologne under Albert the Great, until the lectures on the Psalms as regent master at the University of Naples in 12734. In fact, he commented extensively the whole Corpus Paulinum, the four Gospels and the book of Job; almost all of these works are still awaiting their critical edition5, whereas the translation into modern languages has been advancing in the last decades. Within the biblical work of Thomas Aquinas it is easy to overlook the so-called Catena aurea, originally titled Glossa continua in Matthaeum, Marcum, Lucam, Ioannem. Although the initiative for this work is due to Urban IV, Aquinas put it into practice with a personal interest from 1263 to 1267, during his stay in Orvieto and Rome, in the midst of other commitments6. One might think that there was no need for another reference work of patristic sources, as any scholar of that time made 2

J.-P. TORRELL, Nouvelles recherches thomasiennes, Vrin, Paris 2008, pp. 189-

198. 3

TORRELL, Nouvelles recherches thomasiennes, p. 196. The itinerary of Aquinas’ specifically biblical work can be obtained from the following chronology: J.-P. TORRELL, Saint Thomas d’Aquin. L’homme et son œuvre, Cerf, Paris 2012, pp. 353-356. 5 The Leonine Edition offers up to now: Expositio super Isaiam ad litteram (1974) and Expositio super Iob ad litteram (1965); the rest of the biblical commentaries are in preparation. 6 J. A. WEISHEIPL, Friar Thomas d’Aquino: his life, thought and works, Blackwell, Oxford 1974, pp. 171-174. 4

THOMAS AQUINAS AS INTERPRETER OF SCRIPTURE

use of the various glossae that circulated, including Aquinas himself7. It has been demonstrated, however, that the Catena is quite different from these collections, in method and display as well as concerning the sources themselves, because he increased the number of quotations from the Greek Fathers and sometimes even corrected the existing ones with the help of competent translators8. In the nineteenth century, this work called the attention of John Henry Newman, who considered it a masterpiece of compilation and translated it into English together with other scholars of the Oxford Movement9. The present study has the purpose of observing Thomas Aquinas as theologian with the title Magister in Sacra Pagina which he obtained passing the academic examination called inceptio. His inception texts, corresponding to the different parts of the exam, will enable us to find out if they have a programmatic character and to which extent they involve Sacred Scripture. If this can be confirmed, it will be possible to locate some examples of how this program is applied in his specifically biblical work. As this would be a long-term enterprise, the option has been to select only one of the commentaries and offer one or two examples related to each of the points identified as programmatic. The text chosen for the examples is the Expositio on Saint Paul’s Letter to the Romans for the following reasons: although the critical edition is still being elaborated by the Leonine Commission, Aquinas most probably lectured twice on this epistle in Italy and corrected his text up to and including chapter eight, 7

About the history and the different types of glossae that circulated in the thirteenth century, see: L. SMITH, The Glossa Ordinaria. The making of a medieval

Bible commentary, E.J. Brill, Leiden 2009, pp. 17-78. 8

TORRELL, Saint Thomas d’Aquin, pp. 200-203. St. Thomas Aquinas, Catena aurea, John Henry Newman, Translator, Cosimo Classics, New York 2007 [1845], preface, vol. I-1, pp. iii-iv: «[…] it is impossible to read the Catena of S. Thomas, without being struck with the masterly and architectonic skill with which it is put together. A learning of the highest kind, −not a mere literary bookknowledge, […] but a thorough acquaintance with the whole range of ecclesiastical antiquity, so as to be able to bring the substance of all that had been written on any point to bear upon the text which involved it – a familiarity with the style of each writer, so as to compress into few words the pith of a whole page, and a power of clear and orderly arrangement in this mass of knowledge, are qualities which make this Catena perhaps nearly perfect as a conspectus of Patristic interpretation. Other compilations exhibit research, industry, learning; but this, though a mere compilation, evinces a masterly command over the whole subject of Theology.» 9

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the rest being a reportatio by Reginald of Piperno10; it is a commentary belonging to the years of maturity with all his experience of Aristotelian commentaries, patristic studies and systematic theology; besides, it covers a wide range of theological subjects.

2. Magister in Sacra Pagina The approach to the objective mentioned above comprises a reference to the context of the academic examination and a brief analysis of the lectures given by Thomas Aquinas on that occasion.

2.1. The context In 1252, Thomas Aquinas began his second stay in Paris as sententiarius under the direction of the Dominican master Elias Brunet. In February 1256, when he had finished this period of formation by the degree of baccalaureus formatus, the chancellor of the University of Paris, Aymeric of Veire, gave him the licence for ‘incepting’ in theology and encouraged him to prepare for the Master’s degree11. The circ*mstances were anything but favourable: first of all, because the applicant had not reached the age of thirty five established by the university statute, but mostly because of the antimendicant controversy promoted by secular masters who denied Dominicans and Franciscans the access to university chairs12. After an initial 10 For this question, we follow Jean-Pierre Torrell, who worked eight years in the Leonine Commission and was able to confront his own studies with Gilles de Grandpré, who prepares the edition of the Pauline commentaries: J.-P. TORRELL, Initiation à saint Thomas d’Aquin. Sa personne et son œuvre, Éditions universitaires – Cerf, Fribourg – Paris 1993, pp. 365-371. At a later date, and also with reference to the research of Gilles de Grandpré, it seems that the revisions and annotations of Aquinas reach up to chapter 13, lect. 3, according to a note in a recent English edition: St. Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on the Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans, Transl. by F. R. LARCHER, Ed. by J. MORTENSEN – E. ALARCÓN, The Aquinas Institute for the Study of Sacred Doctrine, Lander WY 2012, p. iii. 11 WEISHEIPL, Friar Thomas d’Aquino, p. 87; TORRELL, Saint Thomas d’Aquin, p. 67. 12 See, for instance: WEISHEIPL, Friar Thomas d’Aquino, p. 80-92; TORRELL, Initiation à saint Thomas d’Aquin, pp. 73-74.

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resistance, but confiding in God’s assistance, Thomas acceded to prepare for the academic exercise of inception, in the months between March and June 1256. This examination was designed to prove the applicant’s skill in the three principal tasks of a master in theology: legere, disputare, praedicare, which means reading and commenting Sacred Scripture, the dialectic procedure of argumentation, and preaching in the sense of oral communication of doctrine. For this purpose it comprised different sessions: the discussion of four questions proposed by the candidate for academic dispute and two lectures to be delivered by him. Two of the questions used to be discussed at vespers before the day of inception and the other two during the ceremony of inception after the lecture called principium. The process concluded with another lecture called resumptio on the first day of the new master’s teaching activity, but the real access to a chair depended on the acceptance by the entire community of masters and the vacancy of a chair. This general procedure has been recognized as applied to Thomas Aquinas. The two lectures are identified as Rigans montes and Hic est liber, respectively13. As for the questions, there exists substantial agreement that the second and the third were presented and concluded by Thomas himself, on the senses of Scripture and on the obligation of manual work, respectively. These questions seem to have been included at the end of Quodlibetum VII where, after a more detailed examination, they appeared to be strange among the rest of this group of disputed questions14. On the other hand, there are plausible reasons for these two questions belonging to the inception process: the first one, about the senses of Scripture, complements the two lectures, where this important 13

S. Thomae Aquinatis Opuscula Theologica, Marietti, Taurini 1954, vol. I: De commendatione Sacrae Scripturae (Rigans montes), pp. 441-443; De commendatione et partitione Sacrae Scripturae (Hic est Liber), pp. 435-439. The first one has been recognized as such in this edition; the second one is presented in the same edition as belonging to the year 1252, when Aquinas began his second Parisian stay supposedly as a Biblical Bachelor, but according to more recent research it is considered with some security as a part of the resumption that took place in 1256, see WEISHEIPL, Friar Thomas d’Aquino, pp. 103-104, followed by Torrell and other reknowned thomists. 14 S. Thomae Aquinatis Quaestiones Quodlibetales, Marietti, Taurini 1956, qq. 6-7; in critical edition: Sancti Thomae de Aquino Opera Omnia, T. XXV: Quaestiones de quolibet, Commissio Leonina – Les Éditions du Cerf, Roma – Paris 1996, qq. 6-7.

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subject of theological discussion is not mentioned15; the other question, with its theological and moral analysis of work, could be an intelligent and poignant answer to the antimendicant polemic, which at that time had reached its height16. Once the inception was concluded, Aquinas was allowed to assume his functions as a regent master, although the official acceptance by the academic community did not take place until a year later because of these same difficulties17.

2.2. The texts Since their identification, the two lectures and the questions have been the object of research and commentary by specialists18. Rigans montes The first lecture is inspired by Ps 103:13 (Vg): «Rigans montes de superioribus suis: de fructu operum tuarum satiabitur terra», which seems to have been the heavenly answer to his anguished and fervent prayer in the difficult situation already mentioned19. He spontaneously became aware of the wide range and the depth of these words, so that he discovered in them the profile and task of a theologian. By using Dionysian and Augustinian principles, he applies the metaphoric language of the Psalm to Divine Wisdom that communicates itself from the heights by means 15

M. TÁBET, Le trattazioni teologiche sulla Bibbia. Un approccio alla storia dell’esegesi, San Paolo, Milano 2003, p. 55. 16 WEISHEIPL, Friar Thomas d’Aquino, pp. 105-110. Weisheipl gives the reasons which make this hypothesis plausible, being followed by other thomists, whereas the Leonine edition of the Quaestiones Quodlibetales discards it. 17 For more details, see: WEISHEIPL, Friar Thomas d’Aquino, pp. 111-115. 18 The studies and commentaries, apart from the biographical works of Weisheipl and Torrell, can be found in the following publications: A. LOBATO, «Santo Tomás, Magister in Sacra Theologia. El Principium de su Magisterio», Communio, 21 (1988) 49-70; L. ELDERS, Conversaciones teológicas con Santo Tomás de Aquino, Ediciones del Verbo Encarnado, San Rafael (Mendoza) 2008, pp. 48-55; P. S. FAITANIN, «A dignidade de ensinar e aprender a Teologia segundo Tomás de Aquino, a partir do texto Rigans montes», Aquinate, 5 (2007) 221-240; this author refers only to the first lecture. 19 For the sources of this event, see: TORRELL, Initiation à saint Thomas d’Aquin, pp. 74-75; WEISHEIPL, Friar Thomas d’Aquino, p. 96.

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of the masters −symbolized by the mountains− and through them flows down to the listeners −meant by the earth−. In this communication of gifts he distinguishes four aspects, which constitute the four chapters of the text: the sublimity of the doctrine, the dignity of the teachers, the receptive disposition of the listeners and the order to be followed in this communication. The height of the sacra doctrina is due to its divine origin, its depth is explored in different levels according to the degree of preparation of the receivers, and its sublimity comes from its final end which is eternal life. The sacri doctores have a particular dignity because of their proximity to heaven, which means to Christ, who is doctor doctorum and whom they ought to imitate; like the mountains, they are first in receiving the light; and like them, they constitute a defence. Therefore, the masters in Sacred Scripture or theologians need to excel through integrity of life, clear intelligence and capacity of defending the truth; this corresponds to the threefold task of the masters, already mentioned: praedicare, legere, disputare. The listeners, compared to the earth watered from above, have to be humble in order to receive the doctrine well; besides, they need to be firm and righteous in discernment, and bear fruit. The last aspect refers to the way of communicating the doctrine: it has to be with common sense, which means not transmitting all they know, but according to need, like the earth which absorbs the water necessary to fructify; the masters are not the owners of doctrine, but receivers, so that the power of transmitting is not theirs but God’s, and for the same reason the fruit does not belong to them but to God; in other words, they are servants and therefore they need innocence, learning, zeal and obedience, and they have to ask with confidence the help of God. This text, beautiful in its simplicity −contemplating the words of the Psalm and the cycle of nature− contains the profile of a theologian and most probably a guideline for Thomas himself. As far as the interpretation of the Bible is concerned, the lecture shows two characteristics. One is the capacity of deriving a whole program from one sentence, beginning with the highest principles contained therein, down to concrete applications. The second is the method of explaining the Bible by the Bible, with the necessary references to the Church Fathers. In fact, the few pages are clustered with biblical quotations: twenty three from the Old Testament and sixteen from the New. It does not seem a mere technique of quoting to confirm or explain the personal ideas of the author, but rather –as Leo

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Elders suggests- his thoughts are developed in a biblical climate20; or, as Abelardo Lobato puts it, the text seems a tissue of biblical quotations starting from the main one which is then unfolded and explained in particular21. In between there are three patristic references: the PseudoDionysius, Augustine and Gregory the Great, used in order to illustrate the scriptural references. Hic est liber The second lecture, which was pronounced at the resumption, also begins with a biblical quotation: «Hic est liber mandatorum Dei, et lex quae est in aeternum: omnes qui tenent eam pervenient ad vitam» (Ba 4, 1). It has two parts: the praise of Sacred Scripture and its interior structure. The first part begins with a reference to Augustine about the qualities of any lecture or speech: it has to instruct, delight and move. This aim, according to Thomas, is excellently achieved by Sacred Scripture, because it instructs firmly (docet firmiter) by its eternal truth, it delectates smoothly (delectat suaviter) by its utility and it moves efficiently (flectit efficaciter) by its authority. Then he applies these three qualities to the three parts of the quotation of Baruch: authority (Hic est Liber), truth (et lex quae est in aeternum), utility (omnes qui tenent eam pervenient ad vitam). The authority of Scripture is efficient for three reasons: first of all, because of its origin in God who is the truth and speaks truth; second, because of its firmness in prescribing the truth that leads to salvation; third, because of the uniformity of teaching (uniformitas dictorum), in the sense that all transmitters of revelation have taught the same doctrine unanimously, and this is meant by Hic est liber: there is only the one book22. 20

ELDERS, Conversaciones teológicas, p. 49. LOBATO, «Santo Tomás, Magister in Sacra Theologia», p. 65. 22 Miguel Ángel Tábet explains that the expression uniformitas dictorum is comparable with the term «analogy of faith» used nowadays, and refers to the profound harmony existing in the biblical texts, so that they illustrate and enlighten each other. This author observes that Thomas Aquinas was well aware of the fact that the inspired books are the work of many hagiographers with their personal aptitudes and talents, so that each book has its own characteristics, but they all performed their task illumined and guided by one and the same Master and Spirit who, acting in them, filled them with one and the same wisdom, affection and interest during their work of writing. Therefore, this uniformitas dictorum was for Aquinas an important tool and supreme 21

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The truth contained in this book is immutable and eternal (et lex quae est in aeternum). And it is of the highest utility, because it leads to true life in three aspects: life of grace, life of justice through good works, and eternal life. By this brief explanation Thomas Aquinas expresses the dimension of the Bible as doctrine and practice, showing its origin and final end in God, which is typical of his theology. The second part of the lecture develops the practical dimension of the Bible in so far as it really conduces to the life it teaches, and this in two ways, namely by the commandments (Old Testament) and through the grace given by the legislator in the New Testament, according to Jn 1:17: ‘though the Law was given through Moses, grace and truth have come through Jesus Christ’. Thereby he pretends to highlight the difference and continuity between both Testaments (quae duo tanguntur). After this general statement and following the teaching practice in use, but establishing a scheme of his own, he enumerates and characterizes all the books of the Old Testament in order to show its interior unity. Ultimately this unity is due to the announcement of Christ the Saviour, in particular through the four major prophets, who preannounce the mystery of the incarnation (Isaiah), the mystery of the passion (Jeremiah), the mystery of the resurrection (Ezekiel) and the divinity of Christ (Daniel). Besides the doctrinal questions, Aquinas applies also historical criticism with the means at hand, by entering into the discussion between Jerome and Augustine about the Hebrew text and the Greek version of the Septuaginta, where his personal option is to follow the approbation of the Church in case of doubt. This means that he distinguishes between authenticity and canonicity, respecting the Magisterium of the Church. As to the New Testament, he divides the books according to the viewpoint of grace: in the Gospels we find the origin of grace, in the Letters of Saint Paul, the power of grace23 and in the rest of books the distribution of grace from the beginning of the Church to its consummation. Ultimately, the unity of the books is given by the open announcement of Jesus Christ in the four Gospels, in parallel with the four prophets of the Old Testament: Matthew shows the mystery of incarnation, Luke the mystery of passion, norm of exegesis. M. Á. TÁBET, «La perspectiva sobrenatural de la hermenéutica bíblica de Santo Tomás», Scripta theologica, 18 (1986) 184-185. 23 Ad Rom., no. 11, prologue. There, Aquinas establishes a theological order of the epistles according to divine grace within the mystery of Christ.

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Mark the mystery of resurrection and John highlights particularly the divinity of Christ. From the exegetical point of view, Aquinas is aware of what later would be called the synoptic question, because he is aware of the difference of style and contents, explaining that they are complementary. This second part of the lecture could be considered as the layout of a moral treatise obtained from the different subjects of the books, in a progression from law and virtues to grace, until the summit is reached in the consummation of the Church: «in quo totius Sacrae Scipturae continentiam Apocalypsis concludit, quousque sponsa in thalamum Iesu Christi ad vitam gloriosam participandam.» Like in the previous lecture, in Hic est Liber we find abundant scriptural quotations: thirty three from the Old Testament and twenty two from the New; there are three patristic references, all of them taken from Saint Jerome. This commendatio and partitio Sacrae Scripturae is similar to other lectures given on such occasions by the new masters, but it is outstanding through its comprehensive and interiorized knowledge of Sacred Scripture offering at the same time a synthesis of the different books, which is useful for theological science. De sensibus Sacrae Scripturae We shall refer only to one of the disputed questions of the inception process, which deals with the interpretation of Scripture and seems directly related to both lectures as a necessary concretion of what is said there24. In the form of an academic discussion, Aquinas affronts the question of a plurality of senses in the biblical texts. In three articles he analyzes the problem like unfolding it. The first article asks whether there are other senses apart from the literal one. After presenting five arguments against a plurality of senses, he gives an affirmative answer based on a biblical quotation and a statement of Saint Jerome. The explanation is clear and precise: the divine purpose of Sacred Scripture is to communicate the truth necessary for salvation. A truth can be expressed by real things and by words, because the words mean things, and a thing may signify another thing. Now, the author of things can accommodate not only the words to 24

In a more concise form, the same theme is treated systematically in ST I, q. 1, aa. 9-10, and in one of the biblical commentaries, on the occasion of an example: In Gal. 4:24a, no. 253-254.

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signify things, but also dispose a thing as figure of another thing. Thus, the Bible manifests truth in a twofold manner: that the words mean things, which is the literal sense; and that things figurate other things, which is the spiritual sense. Once he has made this general statement, in the second article he analyzes the meaning of ‘spiritual sense’. Taking up a distinction made by the Venerable Bede in his commentary on Genesis and already classical among the scholastic theologians of his time, Thomas affirms that there are four senses: literal o historical, which is the basic one and comprises all that belongs to the direct meaning of the words, and is therefore the only sense valid for theological argumentation; the spiritual sense aims at believing correctly and acting correctly, so that it can be subdivided into allegorical or typical (the New Testament prefigured by the Old), tropological or moral, which refers to commandments and virtues, and finally the anagogical sense where both Testaments refer to the final victory of Christ at the end of history. Though, as Weisheipl specifies, the spiritual sense in its different forms is not a personal, subjective interpretation, but has an objective reference25. The third article concludes that there exists no other written document with these characteristics, the Sacred Scripture being unique in this respect. This statement is based on Gregory the Great (Moralia, XII) who says that the Bible is unique, because when narrating facts it also transmits the mystery included within the same words: «quia uno eodemque sermone, dum narrat gestum, prodit mysterium». Aquinas explains this as a way of acting the divine providence in the things created.

3. The profile of a theologian The above analysis of the inception texts permits us to discover in them an approach to Aquinas’ idea of a theologian and his concept of theology as a science based on Sacred Scripture. What presides and stimulates the idea of theology and the theologian is the so-called ‘praise of Scripture’ in the two lectures of inception. The Bible is praised because of its sublime origin 25 WEISHEIPL, Friar Thomas d’Aquino, p. 106: «Moreover, the spiritual sense is not a personal or private interpretation (sometimes called an “accommodated” sense). Rather it is a true sense explicitly indicated as such in other parts of Scripture. In other words, the spiritual sense is a true, objective sense intended by the Holy Spirit». The author refers as examples of allegorical sense, the idea of Christ as the new Adam, the brazen serpent elevated by Moses in the desert, or the paschal lamb.

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and purpose: it is given by God and its utility is salvation, having thus its final end in God; it is doctrine, because it instructs in the eternal truth; and it is practice, because it attracts smoothly and moves efficiently by its authority. The profile of a theologian is drawn according to this praise of Sacred Scripture. It is the reason for the dignity of those who teach it and demands certain qualities in them: first of all, proximity to Christ. Then, they need integrity of life, intelligence and capacity of defending the truth in order to fulfil their threefold task: praedicare, legere, disputare. The teachers of theology are not the owners of doctrine, but its servants; consequently, they are not fruitful by their own power, but rather need to ask the help of God. Besides, as teaching is a bilateral process, there are also certain dispositions required in the listeners, such as humility, firmness and fruitfulness. The text of the commentary Ad Romanos reflects this self-understanding of Thomas Aquinas as Magister in Sacra Pagina. He puts into practice the three tasks of legere, disputare, praedicare, a fact that can be proved throughout the text, so that descending to examples would take us too far. Of course the reading and understanding of the text in its literality is the first task and of primary importance, but when an apparent contradiction appears in the sources he uses or when it is necessary to affirm orthodoxy against heresy, Aquinas displays his skill of disputation. And where the text is apt for moral exhortation or spiritual consideration, he does not hesitate to develop it.

4. A program of theology In the inception texts we find the main guidelines for lecturing on the Bible: some of them can be derived from Thomas’ own practice of exposition, while others are hermeneutic procedures explained by him as such.

4.1. Insight of one sentence Sometimes he understands one sentence of the Bible in a wide and deep range, thus perceiving in it a synthesis of what he desires to explain, as for instance the two quotations that open the lectures Rigans montes and Hic est Liber.

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There a numerous examples for drawing a whole argument from one scriptural sentence, which Aquinas usually situates at the beginning of a commentary. For instance, the prologue to Ad Romanos begins with the words «Vas electionis est mihi iste» (Acts 9:15), spoken by the Lord to Ananias about Saul of Tarsis, so that he may receive him without fear upon his arrival in Damascus26. These few words are the base for the portrait Aquinas designs of Paul on the pages that follow, the only text where he describes in a detailed manner the person of the Apostle. He begins with the biblical image of God as a potter who produces his vessels as he pleases. Any vessel has four characteristics: the make, the content, the use and the utility. Now, Paul is a vessel of gold through the brilliance of his wisdom; solid, through the virtue of charity and adorned with the precious stones of his virtues. It is completely filled −in knowing, willing and living− with the precious liquor of the name of Christ. The vessel is destined for a noble use, which is for carrying the name of Christ to those far from God, and Paul really carried the name of Christ in his body by imitating Him in His life and passion, and he carried it in his mouth through the great frequency in naming Him. The task given to Paul −spreading the name of Christ− reached a universal extension, in a geographical as well as historical sense concerning the future course of history. The mode of carrying this name everywhere was excellent through the grace of divine election, the fidelity in his response and the extraordinary generosity with which he fulfilled his task. Finally, the utility of the vessel symbolizing Paul was extremely high because of his moral purity and the absence of error in his doctrine. Last but not least, reconsidering all he had said, Thomas applies the Aristotelian scheme of the four causes: the efficient cause is Paul himself as author of the epistles; the material cause is the content; the mode of carrying it −as a written message by means of letters− is the formal cause; the fruit or result is the final cause. Similarly, all the other prologues to the Pauline Letters begin with a biblical sentence that characterizes the whole Letter.

The complete verse is: «Go, for this man is my chosen instrument to bring my name before gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel».

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4.2. Explaining the Bible by the Bible A secure and connatural tool for explaining the Bible is the Bible itself, by using cross references which confirm or shed a new light on a certain text. These references are intentional, not random, and presuppose a wide and deep knowledge of Sacred Scripture, a quality that Aquinas had already acquired to a great extent when he delivered his lectures of inception. It is a procedure based on his conviction of the uniformitas dictorum mentioned above. This is a constant practice of Aquinas, therefore the examples would be too numerous. For instance, the author of the French translation of Ad Romanos offers a list of 2862 biblical quotations and references in the course of this commentary, which proceed from all books of both Testaments, except Jonas and Agee27. One example may suffice because of its high significance, namely the commentary of Aquinas on the word evangelium in Rm 1:1: ‘From Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus who has been called to be an apostle, and specially chosen to preach the Good News’28. This short text contains six literal quotations: four from the Old Testament and two from the New. They are inserted not in a forced manner, but within the natural flow of theological thought caused by the biblical text. 4.3. The role of tradition The role of the Church Fathers as witnesses of tradition is essential for Thomas Aquinas and he considers them as a privileged authority for 27 Thomas d’Aquin, Commentaire de l’Épître aux Romains, traduction et tables par Jean-Éric Stroobant de Saint-Éloy, Annotation par Jean Borella et Jean-Éric Stroobant de Saint-Éloy, Avant-propos par Gilles Berceville, Les Éditions du Cerf, Paris 1999, pp. 537-567. 28 Ad Rom. 1:1, no. 23-24, ch. 1, lect. 1: «Evangelium autem idem est quod bona annuntiatio. Annuntiatur enim in ipso coniunctio hominis ad Deum, quae est bonum hominis, scundum illud Ps. LXXII, 28: Mihi autem Deo adhaerere bonum est. –Triplex autem coniunctio hominis ad Deum annuntiatur in evangelio. Prima quidem per gratiam unionis, secundum illud Io. I, 14: Verbum caro factum est.– Secunda per gratiam adoptionis, prout inducitur in Ps. LXXXI, 6: Ego dixi: Dii estis et filii Excelsi omnes. – Tertia per gloriam fruitionis, Io. XVII, 3: Haec est vita aeterna. Is. LII, 7: Quam pulchri super montes pedes annuntiantis. Haec autem annuntiatio non humanitus sed a Deo facta est, Is. XXI, 10: Quae audivi a Domino exercituum, Deo Israel, annuntiavi vobis. Unde dicit in Evangelium Dei.»

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interpreting the Bible. He uses various names for referring to them: Sancti, because of their familiarity with God; Patres and Doctores antiqui, through their historical proximity to the origin of revelation; sacri Doctores, because of their religious science, also Doctores fidei or Doctores catholici; and more specifically, expositores sacrae Scripturae29. In fact, his increasing knowledge of their writings is a light which makes him discover the range of meaning and the nuances of the biblical texts. These references are not used as additional sources, but only when they are needed, thus leaving untouched the primacy of Scripture. Aquinas regularly consults the Glosa30 and other patristic sources, to which he has access through his own research. His reading is not only reverential, but also critical and, when necessary, he resolves discrepancies and apparent contradictions between the different patristic sources, trying to apprehend the scriptural meaning as clearly as possible. There is an interesting example for this procedure in his commentary on Rm 2:5: «Your stubborn refusal to repent is only adding to the anger God will have towards you on that day of anger when his just judgements will be made known». Aquinas mentions the commentary offered by the Glosa, where it says that «stubborn refusal to repent» means a sin against the Holy Spirit, which is unforgivable, and he decides to analyse as exactly as possible what is a sin against the Holy Spirit and why it is unforgivable. He takes up the patristic information given by the Glosa, examines it historically, distinguishing between the Fathers before and after Augustine as well as Augustine himself, and adds other patristic sources. After contrasting the different points of view, he concludes with a complete explanation, affirming six species −or three twofold species− of sins against the Holy Spirit, giving the reason of why they are unforgivable31. His conclusion, when referred again to Rm 2:5, coincides with the meaning and it can be seen that the explanation, in a certain way, has ‘opened’ the versicle.

TÁBET, «La perspectiva sobrenatural», p. 188. For the Pauline Letters, when Aquinas refers to the Glosa, he means the Magna glossatura of Peter Lombard or Collectanea Petri Lombardi, PL 191-192. 31 Ad Rom. 2:5, n. 187, ch. 2, lect. 1. This exposition is very similar, in sources and argument, to ST II-I, q. 14, which could have been written between both lectures on Romans, if we follow the chronology given by Torrell. 30

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4.4. The method of dividing the text The so-called division of Scripture (partitio), applied in the lecture Hic est Liber was a general practice of scholastic teachers as a literary device, in order to explain both the diversity and the unity of the books, as well as their doctrinal relationship. Thomas Aquinas followed this practice, although in his own style. This method of dividing was applied also to each book by the so-called divisio textus in order to establish the literary units of the texts and the theological function of the sentences and words in their near or remote context32. Aquinas uses the following procedure, in three phases: first, he divides the text into small units; then he defines each unit; finally, he reconnects the different units in order to be able to read the text being aware of its interior unity33. This procedure may seem artificial or superfluous to a modern reader, but it has the advantage of remembering the whole content when reading the different parts of a work34. The commentary of Aquinas on the Letter to the Romans offers a great number of examples for this hermeneutical method, because it is applied constantly throughout the text. Here we choose only one, which seems paradigmatic35. First he presents the whole content of the Letter and its finality, dividing it into its major parts: the doctrine of grace (virtus evangelicae gratiae) and the moral instruction (executio operum) from chapter 12 onwards. Then he continues dividing the first part, descending to minor unities of the discourse without losing the connection of the whole.

M. TÁBET, «I preludi dei moderni trattati sulla natura e interpretazione della Sacra Scrittura nel periodo medievale», Annales theologici, 15 (2001) 21. 33 For the characteristic procedure of Thomas Aquinas in his scriptural commentaries, see: M. M. ROSSI, «La divisio textus nei commenti scritturistici di S. Tommaso d’Aquino: un procedimento solo esegetico?», Angelicum, 71 (1994) 537-548. 34 ELDERS, Conversaciones teológicas, p. 45. 35 ROSSI, «La divisio textus», p. 541. The text selected by the author is Ad Rom., 1:16-17, no. 97, ch. 1, lect. 6, about Rm 1:16-17: «Postquam Apostolus Romanos fideles, quibus scribebat, sibi benevolos reddidit ostendendo affectum suum ad eos, hic incipit instruere eos de his quae pertinent ad Evangelicam doctrinam in quam se segregatum praedixerat. – Et primo ostendit virtutem evangelicae gratiae, secundo exhortatur ad executionem operum huius gratiae, XII cap. ibi obsecro itaque. – Circa primum duo facit: primo proponit quod intendit, secundo manifestat propositum, ibi revelatur enim. – Circa primum tria facit: primo proponit virtutem evangelicae gratiae, secundo exponit ibi iustitia enim, tertio expositionem confirmat ibi sicut scriptum est.»

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4.5. Plurality of senses Thomas Aquinas, as we have seen, follows the general practice of his colleagues in hermeneutics, distinguishing four senses in the scriptural texts, but he stresses the importance of the literal or historical sense, which is the secure foundation of the others. Therefore, the literal sense is carefully determined with the tools at hand. He generally works with the Latin text of the so-called Bible of Saint Jacques revised by Hugh of Saint-Cher, but he also uses other versions, if necessary, for a clearer appreciation of the meaning. This is particularly frequent with quotations from the Old Testament, where Saint Paul uses the Septuagint version; in such cases Aquinas −with expressions like «sed littera nostra habet»− makes a comparison with the direct version from Hebrew by Jerome. Only one example: in Rm 9:17, which reproduces the words of God to the pharaoh in Ex 9:16, the Latin version of the letter to the Romans which Aquinas uses normally, says: in hoc ipsum excitavi te; he compares it with servavi te in the Vetus Latina; and then with the Latin version of Jerome: posui te. He shows that the three verbs a not synonyms, but they express with different nuances the power and wisdom of God fulfilling his plan36. The literal sense implies also historical references where necessary, for instance the origin and use of the name «Paulus»37. As for the spiritual sense in its different forms, it appears in a natural manner during the discourse and does not seem specifically sought. A moral interpretation can be found in the commentary on Rm 2:11: «For there is no respect of persons with God». Aquinas explains that this is an aspect of distributive justice, which we ought to apply in order to be just and avoid favouritism in our actions; he explains the reasons and presents a few examples38. Aquinas, when commenting Rm 4:11, applies both an allegorical and an anagogical interpretation. He explains that circumcision and all the ceremonies of the Old Testament are based on a relation with Christ, to whom they are compared as the figure to the reality and as the members to the body. Therefore, the bodily circumcision signifies the spiritual circumcision to be accomplished by Christ: first in the soul, 36

Ad Rom., no. 780, ch. 9, lect. 3. Ad Rom., no. 15-19, ch. 1, lect. 1. 38 Ad Rom., no. 205, ch. 2, lect. 2. This explanation is similar to the detailed treatment of this aspect of justice in ST II-II, q. 63, a. 1. 37

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concerning concupiscence and the effects of sin; then in regard to the body, when in the resurrection all possibility of suffering and death is removed from the bodies of the elect39.

4.6. Jesus Christ, the centre of Sacred Scripture The supreme theological principle of Saint Thomas is doubtlessly the conviction of Jesus Christ being the centre and summit of Sacred Scripture and ultimately the reason for its unity. It seems a light that illuminates and orders the different procedures of commenting biblical texts. This conviction, already expressed in the lecture Hic est Liber, appears at the very beginning of Ad Romanos, when −commenting Rm 1:3− he affirms that Christ is the subject matter of the Holy Scriptures40. Here, it would be impossible to show, by means of examples, the centrality of Christ in his commentary on the Letter to the Romans. It may be sufficient to mention the index of terms in the French version of the commentary, where the references to Christ are presented according to a theological scheme; it can be observed that they cover practically the whole Christology41.

4.7. The Bible, read in Ecclesia Another principle, closely linked with the aforesaid, is that Sacred Scripture has to be read in Ecclesia, which means that the ultimate judgement about the canon of books and the interpretation of a particular text belong to the authority of the Church, as we have seen commenting Hic est Liber. In reality, tradition represented by the Church Fathers could have been included in this paragraph, because they are a paradigm of Sacred Scripture being read within the Church. But a few examples may show what Aquinas understands by the living Church being a criterion for interpreting the Bible. He comments briefly on an interesting expression in Rm 6:17, where Paul thanks God that the Romans ‘have obeyed from the heart unto that form of 39

Ad Rom., no. 348, ch. 4, lect. 2. Ad Rom., no. 29, ch. 1, lect. 2. 41 Thomas d’Aquin, Commentaire de l’Épître aux Romains, pp. 573-576. 40

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doctrine unto which you have been delivered.’ He affirms that this forma doctrinae is the Catholic faith42. Commenting on Rm 10:10 ‘man believes with his heart and so is justified; and he confesses with his mouth and so is saved’, Aquinas distinguishes between matters of faith that have not been perfectly manifested or declared by the Church, and in these cases it is enough for a man to keep his faith between himself and God; but certain things of faith have already been determined by the Church, and in these cases one should confess one’s faith without fear43. When interpreting the Bible in Ecclesia, he not only consults the Magisterium, but also considers other sources present in the life of the Church as criteria of exegesis, such as the decretal collections of Canon Law44, liturgical norms45, and the life of saints46.

5. Conclusions and outlook 5.1 As a general impression and a kind of approach, it can be said that Thomas Aquinas is consequent with his self-understanding as a theologian and with his idea of theology, whose principal source is Sacred Scripture, interpreted authentically and transmitted in and through the Church. His way of commenting the Bible is more than a descriptive «biblical theology», because he uses the same scientific tools he employs in his systematic work while he follows the course of the biblical text itself and stops occasionally in order to dwell on a certain subject suggested by the text; therefore we can find in his biblical commentaries complete theological arguments, similar to the ones of his systematic works. But they are different because, instead of obeying to a previously organized pattern −like, for instance in the Summa Theologiae−, they ‘grow’ directly 42

Ad Rom., no. 503, ch. 6, lect. 3. Ad Rom., no. 1137, ch. 14, lect. 3. 44 For instance, with reference to Rom 14:5, about distinguishing between days for fasting: Ad Rom., no. 1098, ch. 14, lect. 1. 45 About Rm 13:11, in relation to the proximity of the coming of Christ: Ad Rom., no. 1065, ch. 13, lect. 3. 46 About Rm 12:19 («non vosmetipsos defendentes, carissimi»): «Sed, sicut Augustinus dicit in libro contra mendacium, ea quae in Novo Testamento a sanctis facta sunt, valent ad exempla intelligendarum scripturarum, quae in praeceptis data sunt», Ad Rom., no. 1011, ch. 12, lect. 3. 43

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on the soil of the biblical text. In fact, when commenting the Bible, he combines the highest theological principles with the concrete literal expression of the text. His habit of methodical thinking is activated by the text, so that he explains the faith using reason, always under the primacy of faith: the Bible is venerated as locutio Dei, in which the mystery of Jesus Christ is the centre. In a way, Aquinas produces integrated theology when he comments on sacred Scripture. 5.2 The technique of exegesis, with its clearly scholastic procedure, may seem artificial to the unaccustomed reader of the twenty first century, yet it is not a superstructure but responds to the internal logic of the text. So, although the procedure is not imitable now, the reader’s effort of penetrating in the structure of these commentaries is useful and rewarding. 5.3 As we have stated at the beginning of this study, the biblical commentaries of Thomas Aquinas have gained in interest during the twentieth century, but mostly through quotation of meaningful sentences, whereas the critical editions and translations of complete texts are advancing very slowly; so, this is certainly a target to be achieved. 5.4 In this line, a similar project could be useful for a better knowledge of the biblical background of the theologian Thomas Aquinas, that is studying the way he uses the Bible in this systematic work, where the aspects of disputatio and praedicatio are more evident. An interesting example in this respect would be the Summa contra Gentiles, comparing books I-III, where the biblical quotations are rather scarce, with book IV, where they are abundant. This reflects the intention of the author, who seeks the progressive approach of the readers to Christian faith. 5.5 Another possibility and certainly a desideratum could be to continue identifying the enormously rich spiritual theology latent in the whole of his theological work, as Jean-Pierre Torrell has already started to demonstrate by various text studies, but it would be interesting to focus the research specifically on the biblical commentaries.

JEREMY HOLMES* PARTICIPATION AND THE MEANING OF SCRIPTURE

The notion of participation has come to the fore in recent discussion of the future of Catholic biblical scholarship. Francis Martin has proposed that the spiritual sense of Scripture, taken in the strict meaning of that term, be defined as «the anticipatory participation of Old Testament realities in the mystery of Christ»1. Building on the work of Francis Martin, Matthew Lamb, and others, Matthew Levering has proposed that a key to breaking the impasse between historical-critical methods and traditional approaches to Scripture is seeing the participatory understanding of history at play in the older approaches. The historical-critical approach has unreflectively adopted a nominalist understanding of history which prevents it even from comprehending, much less employing, the approaches of older exegetes2. All of the scholars mentioned above are drawing on the notion of participation found in the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas, who sums up the classical metaphysical tradition3. *

Assistant Professor of Theology, Wyoming Catholic College, 1400 City Park Drive · Lander, WY 82520, email: [emailprotected] 1 This phrase is taken from his remarks in the continuing seminar on the use of the Old Testament in the Gospel of John at the 2005 CBA conference. In a published collection of essays, Fr. Martin suggests the term «economic participation», which he defines as «the fact that the events and persons, the wars and actions, as well as the persons of Israel share proleptically but metaphysically in the reality of Christ». See F. MARTIN, Sacred Scripture: The Disclosure of the Word, Sapientia, Naples FL 2006, p. 274. 2 M. LEVERING, Participatory Biblical Exegesis: A Theology of Biblical Interpretation, Univeristy of Notre Dame Press, Notre Dame IN 2008. Cf. M. LAMB, «Eternity and Time in St. Thomas Aquinas’s Lectures on St. John’s Gospel», in M. DAUPHINAIS – M. LEVERING (edd.), Reading John with St. Thomas Aquinas: Theological Exegesis and Speculative Theology, The Catholic University of America Press, Washington D.C. 2005, pp. 127-139, at p. 127: «To understand the concrete universality of Jesus Christ, the reader must overcome an all too contemporary tendency, rooted in nominalism, to oppose the universal and the particular». 3 Interest in Thomas’s teaching on participation took off just as WWII was beginning, as C. FABRO’s La nozione metafisica de partecipazione secondo S. Tommaso d’Aquino was published in Milan in 1939, and L. GEIGER’s La participation dans la philosophie de S. Thomas d’Aquin in Paris in 1942. Geiger did not in fact have

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1. Participation In several places, St. Thomas offers a concise definition of participation. Participare nihil aliud est quam ab alio partialiter accipere: participation is nothing other than to receive from another in a partial manner4. The crux of the matter is in the possibility of receiving something partially. Or as Thomas puts it elsewhere, est autem participare quasi partem capere: «To participate» is, as it were, to take a part of something5. One might object that someone can take a part of a cake, and yet the philosophical tradition would not generally concede that he participates the cake. The difficulty lies in bringing a quantitative notion of whole and part to bear on the problem of participation: when the individual takes a piece of the cake, what he receives in reality is a whole, even though he knows that originally it was a part of the cake. In other words, he can take a part of the cake, quantitatively speaking, but he cannot take the whole cake partialiter, in a partial way. The imagination cannot illuminate Thomas’s definition. The solution lies in Thomas’s notions of form and matter6. In the whole which results from these two parts, we have a new kind of whole and part which does not resolve into an assembly of many wholes. In the matter’s reception of the form, we have a new kind of reception, which is not a access to Fabro’s work until his work was nearly complete; the two projects emerged independently of one another as part of a larger interest in recovering the platonism in Thomas’s thought. Literature on Thomas’s platonism, and on participation in particular, has burgeoned since. This article will not interact in detail with the literature, which would turn it into an article on Thomism. Instead, aware of the rich development which has taken place in thomistic studies, I will focus on the general notion of participation and the promise it holds for biblical studies, in the hope that this will lead to a deeper encounter between the biblical specialist and the thomist on these issues. For discussion of Thomas’s own exegetical practice as including participatory thought, in addition to the works cited above see J. KOTERSKI, «The Doctrine of Participation in Aquinas’s Commentary on St. John», in J. HACKETT - W. MURNION - C. STILL (edd.), Being and Thought in Aquinas, Global Academic Publishing, Binghamton – New York 2004, pp. 108-121. 4 In Libros de coelo et mundo, Lib. 2, lect. 18. 5 In Boethii de Hebd., lect. 2: «Est autem participare quasi partem capere; et ideo quando aliquid particulariter recipit id quod ad alterum pertinet universaliter, dicitur participare illud». 6 Or more deeply, in the notions of act and potency, but it will be helpful to start our discussion from what is more complex and therefore more accessible to human understanding.

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transferal of quantity, and so is open to the possibility of partial reception. To grasp this kind of whole and part, and this kind of reception, involves grasping causality –something entirely beyond the imagination, as Hume demonstrated. One cannot envision these parts apart from one another, as the imagination can do with quantitative parts, but one must consider them by abstraction, with the intellect. This definition of participation as partial reception implicitly includes two further points7. First, to participate is to receive from a source, hence participation involves a relation of dependence. If someone happened to resemble Christ by sharing one of his perfections but did not receive that perfection in some way from Christ, then «participation» would not be an applicable term. Second, this source must have the perfection in a total and unrestricted manner. To participate is to receive partially, and so anything that has a perfection partially has that perfection by participation and not as the source of participation. To have a perfection by participation and to have it as the source of participation are mutually exclusive. St. Thomas gives physical light as an example: «Something is predicated of a subject in two ways: by essence, and by participation. For light is predicated of an» illuminated body by way of participation; but if there were a light separated [from any subject], light would be predicated of it by essence»8. If Old Testament persons and events, or New Testament sacraments for that matter, are said to participate the mystery of Christ, then Christ himself must have the graces and perfections in question in a total and complete manner: «It is not by measure that he gives the Spirit; the Father loves the Son, and has given all things into his hand» (John 3:34-5); «From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace» (John 1:16)9. 7 In my enumeration of these three elements of participation, I am indebted to W. CLARKE, «The Meaning of Participation in St. Thomas», Proceedings of the American Catholic Philosophical Association, 26 (1952) 147-160, especially 150-154. 8 Quodl. II, 2, 3: «Respondeo dicendum, quod dupliciter aliquid de aliquo praedicatur: uno modo essentialiter, alio modo per participationem; lux enim praedicatur de corpore illuminato participative; sed si esset aliqua lux separata, praedicaretur de ea essentialiter». 9 Commenting on the preposition de («from») in this verse, St. Thomas explains that Christ is the efficient cause of grace in all intelligent creatures, and that the Spirit who proceeds from Christ in his divinity is the same Spirit who fills us with grace. «In a third way», he continues, «the preposition de denotes partiality, as when we say, Take this bread, or wine, i.e., take a part and not the whole; and taking it this way, note that, in the one who receives, the part is drawn from a fullness. For he himself receives all

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To summarize, «participation» is a condensed technical way of expressing a complex of ideas: (1) partial reception (2) in dependence on a source (3) that possesses the perfection in a complete manner. A thing is said to participate when it receives a perfection in a partial manner in dependence on a source that possesses the perfection in a complete manner. To say that the persons and events of the Old Testament participate in the mystery of Christ is to say several things at once. It means that the Old Testament has the same properties as does the New Testament, but in an imperfect way. It means that the Old Testament in some way receives those properties from the mysteries enacted in the New Testament, i.e., in dependence on the New Testament mysteries. Lastly, it means that the mysteries of the New Testament have those same properties in a complete and definitive way. This complex of statements seems to be summed up well in the traditional formula, «The New Testament lies hidden in the Old, and the Old Testament is unveiled in the New»10. A corollary to the above is that certain elements in the New Testament themselves participate in the end times. This comes out in Thomas’s discussion of how the ceremonial precepts of the Old Law were figures of things to come11: In the state of future blessedness the human intellect will perceive the very divine truth in itself. And therefore exterior worship will not consist in any figure, but only in the praise of God. But in the state of this present life, we cannot perceive the divine truth in itself, but the ray of divine truth must shine on us under certain sensible figures, as Dionysius says in the first chapter of The Celestial Heierarchy; yet in different ways corresponding to the different the gifts of the Holy Spirit without measure, according to a perfect fullness; but we participate some part of his fullness through him, and this according to the measure which God alots to each one. Eph 4:7, To each one of us grace is given according to the measure of Christ’s gift». In Ioh., ch. 1, lect. 10: «Tertio modo haec praepositio de denotat partialitatem, sicut cum dicimus, accipe de hoc pane, vel vino, idest partem accipe, et non totum; et hoc modo accipiendo, notat in accipientibus partem de plenitudine derivari. Ipse enim accepit omnia dona Spiritus Sancti sine mensura, secundum plenitudinem perfectam; sed nos de plenitudine eius partem aliquam participamus per ipsum; et hoc secundum mensuram, quam unicuique deus divisit. Eph. IV, 7: unicuique autem nostrum data est gratia, secundum mensuram donationis.» 10 Augustine, Quaest. in Hept. 2, 73; P.L., vol. 34, 623. 11 ST I-II, q. 101, a. 2, c.

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states of human knowledge. For in the Old Law the divine truth in itself was not manifested, nor yet was the way of arriving at it set out, as the Apostle says in Heb 9:8. And so it was necessary that the worship of the Old Law be figurative not only of the future truth to be manifested in the [heavenly] homeland, but also to be figurative of Christ, who is the way leading to that truth of the homeland. But in the state of the New law, this way is already revealed. Hence this does not need to be prefigured [in our worship] as something to come, but must be commemorated by way of something past or present, and only the future truth of glory not yet revealed needs to be prefigured. And this is what the Apostle says in Heb 10:1, «The law has the shadow of good things to come, but not the very image of the things»; for a shadow is less than an image just as the image pertains to the New Law but the shadow to the Old.

Some mysteries of the New Testament are perfect and definitive, namely the «way» to heavenly glory: we have the perfect sacrifice, the perfect priest, the perfect king. Christ’s sacrifice is not a participation in some further reality, nor is his priesthood, nor his kingship. But other mysteries of the New Testament are admittedly imperfect: faith will give way to knowledge; the imperfect exercise of Christ’s kingship we see around us will yield to his absolute and visible dominion over the world; the whole sacramental system of the Church, including the Eucharist, will pass away when the end comes. This is why Thomas says that all of the sacraments signify not only our past redemption and the grace imparted for the present, but also our final consummation12. Sometimes we find both perfection and imperfection in the same reality, although in different respects. For example, manna in the Old Testament foreshadowed that more perfect waybread, the Eucharist, which feeds not only the body but the soul. As a support for those who are still journeying to the Promised Land, the Eucharist is perfect. But as a reception of Christ, it is an imperfect participation in the face-to-face vision of God the Word that will be ours in the final consummation. The Old Testament sacrifices foreshadowed the perfect sacrifice of Christ, which is continued in the Eucharist. But the liturgy we celebrate now is an imperfect participation in the heavenly liturgy celebrated by the saints and angels in light. So there is no contradiction when we see the manna and the Old Testament sacrifices 12

ST III, q. 60, a. 3.

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as foreshadowings of or participations in the Eucharist, and yet at the same time see the Eucharist as a foreshadowing of the heavenly banquet. For the same reason, we can also say that the same Old Testament reality participates in the mysteries of the New Testament in one respect, and yet participates in the mysteries of the end times in another respect. For example, inasmuch as the Passover meal was a sacrifice, it participated in the mystery of Christ’s perfect sacrifice on the cross; inasmuch as eating of the sacrifice expressed a certain communion with God, it was a participation in the beatific union with God enjoyed by the saints. In this way, the Passover meal foreshadows both the mystery of the cross (and thus the Mass) and the mystery of the end times; the traditional way of saying this would be that it has both an allegorical meaning and an anagogical meaning. However, as I mentioned a moment ago, the Eucharist also participates in the mystery of our final union with God, inasmuch as sacramental communion is an imperfect form of union with the second person of the Trinity. So the Passover meal and the Eucharist both participate in the same final consummation, but the Eucharist does so more perfectly, and in fact replaces the Passover meal in the New Covenant. Seen under the aspect of communion with God, the Passover meal is not an anticipatory participation in the Eucharist, because the Eucharist does not possess that particular perfection in a complete way. But given that the Passover meal and the Eucharist are both participations in the same reality, and given that the Eucharist is more perfect and is meant in God’s plan to replace the Passover meal, we can say that the Passover is an anticipation of the Eucharist—not an anticipatory participation, but simply an anticipation. This case calls to mind Thomas’s characterization of the Old and New Laws as two parts of a single motion towards the same goal13. Both have the same end, namely eternal life, but the New Law is closer to that end and therefore more perfect, as a pot of water heating on the stove becomes hotter the closer it comes to the boiling point. The Old Law was ordered to the New Law as a pedagogue, as Paul says in Gal 3:24. We have discussed the way in which the Old Testament realities received a partial share in the perfection of the mystery of Christ and the way in which the mystery of Christ has this perfection completely. The final component of participation still to be examined is the way in which the Old 13

ST I-II, q. 7, a. 1, c.

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Testament has its share in Christ’s perfection from or in dependence on Christ. In other words, we must state the way in which Christ is the cause of the Old Testament realities’ share in his perfection. Fr. Martin speaks of Christ’s crucifixion as the «exemplar and instrumental efficient cause» of all other events in the economy of salvation, but this needs to be clarified14. Although Thomas does say that Christ’s passion causes our salvation as an instrumental efficient cause15, he clarifies further on that Christ’s passion was not the efficient cause of the salvation of the Old Testament saints because an efficient cause cannot come into being later in time than its effect; the only kind of cause that can come into being later than its effect is a final cause16. Again, Christ is not in the strictest sense the exemplar cause of Old Testament realities because God did not look to Christ to receive the pattern on which to make them; this would mean that God himself was somehow informed by the Incarnation and passion of Christ17. Nonetheless, there is a wider sense in which we can speak of Christ as the exemplar of Old Testament realities. God made the Old Testament realities to prefigure Christ similarly to the way an architect creates an «artist’s rendering» of a house or town he plans to build. Strictly speaking the house to be built is some species of final cause of the painting while the exemplar of the painting is the idea in the mind of the architect, but because the form of the painting is intended to resemble the form-to-be of the house then we can speak of the house as the «exemplar» of the painting in an extended sense. With these qualifications in mind, we can follow Fr. Martin in saying that the Old Testament is dependent on the mystery of Christ as on an exemplar. As I mentioned at the beginning, Fr. Martin has proposed that the spiritual sense of Scripture be defined as «the anticipatory participation of Old Testament realities in the mystery of Christ». In light of the arguments I have given here, perhaps we can extend his proposal to say that the spiritual sense of Scripture is the anticipatory participation of Old Testament realities in the mysteries of Christ’s first and second comings. Further, nothing prevents realities of the New Testament from having a spiritual meaning that refers to the final consummation of the second coming. Lastly, the 14

MARTIN, Sacred Scripture, p. 274. ST III, q. 49, a. 6. 16 ST III, q. 62, a. 6. 17 I am indebted to Dr. John Nieto of Thomas Aquinas College for this point. 15

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spiritual sense also occurs when an Old Testament reality anticipates a mystery of the first coming by having a lesser participation in the same mystery of consummation.

2. Further Precision As the discussion moves forward, it will be important to emphasize that «participation» is an analogous term. The constant element in the definition is ab alio partialiter accipere, but this does not apply univocally to every situation. For example, King David participates humanity, Aquinas would say, since he receives the form «humanity» in signate matter18. King David also participates the being of God, but not by receiving the being of God as an intrinsic form19. God is in this case the exemplar cause, or extrinsic formal cause, of David. When we apply these distinctions to biblical studies, we find that the same Old Testament person or event may participate the mystery of Christ in more than one way at the same time. Distinguishing these analogous meanings of «participation» will prevent confusion. One text from Aquinas illustrates the possibilities. Commenting on Paul’s letter to the Colossians, Thomas says20: 18

In the context of his discussion of Plato (In libros Metaphysicorum, ibid.), he says: «That which is something entirely does not participate that thing, but is by its essence the same as that thing. But that which is not entirely one thing, yet has something else conjoined, is properly said to participate.».[Quod enim totaliter est aliquid, non participat illud, sed est per essentiam idem illi. Quod vero non totaliter est aliquid habens aliquid aliud adiunctum, proprie participare dicitur.].As an example, he notes that fire is not purely heat, but has other constituents as well; hence fire is not the same thing as heat, but is properly said to participate heat. 19 For a detailed discussion of how creatures participate the being of God, see J. WIPPEL, «Thomas Aquinas and Participation», in J. WIPPEL (ed.), Studies in Medieval Philosophy, Catholic University of America Press, Washington D.C. 1987, pp. 117158. 20 In Col., ch. 1, lect. 4: «Tripliciter enim aliquid potest ab alio participare: uno modo, accipiendo proprietatem naturae eius; alio modo, ut recipiat ipsum per modum intentionis cognitivae; alio modo, ut deserviat aliqualiter eius virtuti, sicut aliquis medicinalem artem participat a medico vel quia accipit in se medicinae artem, vel accipit cognitionem artis medicinalis, vel quia deservit arti medicinae. Primum est maius secundo, et secundum tertio.»

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Something can participate from another in three ways: in one way, by receiving a property of its nature; in another way, by receiving the thing by way of cognitive intention; in still another way, by serving its power. For example, someone can participate the medical art from a doctor either because he receives the medical into himself, or because he receives knowledge of the medical art, or because he serves the medical art. The first is greater than the second, and the second than the third.

Thomas distinguishes three ways of participating a perfection. (1) Most perfectly, one can receive a partial share of the source’s form as one’s own form, as for example all living things have varying shares of God’s life. (2) Less perfectly, one can receive the source’s form but not as one’s own form, which is to say, one can have knowledge of the source. When I know a tree, I receive the form of «tree» in my mind, but I receive it not as my own form—that would make me a tree—but as a form belonging to another. The form is only in my mind. (3) This is the most difficult mode of participation to understand, because it is the least perfect. It is possible to have some ordering to the perfecting source as to an end without receiving the form of that source; this ordering can be understood by the mind as a «participation» in the power of the source, but it is participation which is rational instead of real. This happens whenever an agent uses something or someone else as an instrument. For example, a painter uses a paintbrush to cause his painting, and so the paintbrush can be said to have a share in the power that produces the painting. Yet when we examine what the brush really receives from the artist, it is simply a motion in this direction and a motion in that direction, here and then there. The mind can pull all the motions together and perceive in them an ordering to the painting, but in the brush itself there is only a motion in a particular direction.Thomas illustrates his division by the analogy of a doctor and his student. It is not strictly an instance of participation, since the student can obtain as complete a share of the medical art as his teacher has, but it is an example of manuductio, by which Thomas leads his reader from what is more sensible to what is less accessible by the imagination. (1) The student can learn to be a doctor himself, thus receiving the medical art as his own. (2) The student could study medicine and have a «text-book» knowledge of the art, without himself being a doctor. (3) Finally, the student could assist the doctor in his work by preparing the work room, fetching instruments, or performing simple medical tasks that he does not understand but can

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carry out with instruction. Here we see the division Thomas is aiming at: the student has the form «doctor» as his own, has it merely as something known, or assists a doctor without really having the form himself. Of course, all three kinds of participation can overlap: one could be a doctor, have text-book knowledge of the medical art, and assist another doctor all at the same time. The same is true when we apply these distinctions to Scripture. An Old Testament person or event might participate the mystery of Christ in several ways at once. (1) King David can participate the mystery of Christ by receiving a property of Christ in himself (kingship over God’s people); or (2) by knowing the mystery of Christ (the messianic psalms come to mind); or (3) by preparing for the mystery of Christ through his linearhistorical actions. All three of these modes are participations in the mystery of Christ, but «the first is greater than the second, and the second than the third». We will go through each more carefully now, proceeding in reverse order from third to first. The mode of participation that Thomas compares to a doctor’s assistant illuminates the notion of salvation history. The journey of Abraham from Ur to Canaan, Joshua’s conquest of the land, and David’s wars against the Philistines all furthered God’s plan of preparation for the Christ. They marked out a certain land, set up government, established a monarchy, and by so doing set the stage for one who would come to God’s chosen people and claim the Davidic kingship. Even the Assyrian and Babylonian invasions are claimed by Scripture as serving God’s power, and ultimately as preparing for one who would come to restore Israel. One could compare all of these actions to the doctor’s assistant who prepares the room for surgery, assembles the instruments and cleans them, and sets up the table. Some of these agents had no grasp of the significance of what they were doing, while others may have had a partial understanding, but all performed actions that were ordered to the redemption carried out by Christ. If we examine what the Babylonians really received from the mystery of Christ, it is nothing more than a providential direction to go here or do that, but the mind (enlightened by faith) can perceive in the whole sequence of events an ordering to an end of which the Babylonians themselves were not aware. This kind of participation, the least perfect of the three, applies to events at what Matthew Levering calls the «linearhistorical» level. It is linear history considered insofar as Christ is its final cause.

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A more perfect mode of participation is that of knowledge: someone might participate the mystery of Christ by receiving it in knowledge –the prophets come immediately to mind. Their share in the mystery of Christ was much more real than the Babylonians, because they received an actual form in their minds. However, one must avoid thinking that the prophets must have known the Christ in detail because they had knowledge of his mysteries. Traditional exegesis seems at times to have overstated the prophets’ grasp of the gospel, attributing to them an awareness even of small details in Christ’s life21; modern exegesis tends to deny them any prophetic foreknowledge at all22. The prophets’ knowledge at any point in history was a greater or lesser participation in the full revelation of Christ, albeit sometimes quite dim. However, the chief reason modern exegetes deny prophetic foreknowledge is not a lack of detail. Historical critics have rightly pointed out that the prophets bore a message to Israelites of their day, whether of judgment or of hope. Therefore, it is argued, they were not 21

See for example The Catechism of the Council of Trent, Part I, Article II, trans. by J. A. MCHUGH and Ch. J. CALLAN, Tan Books, Rockford IL 1982, p. 33: «And indeed the Prophets, whose minds were illuminated from above, foretold the birth of the Son of God, the wondrous works which He wrought while on earth, His doctrine, character, life, death, Resurrection, and the other mysterious circ*mstances regarding Him,-and all these they announced to the people as graphically as if they were passing before their eyes. With the exception that one has reference to the future and the other to the past, we can discover no difference between the predictions of the Prophets and the preaching of the Apostles, between the faith of the ancient Patriarchs and that of Christians». 22 R. BROWN, The Birth of the Messiah: A Commentary on the Infancy Narratives in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, Doubleday, New York 1993, p. 146: «Before the advent of the modern critical method it was generally accepted by religious Jews and Christians that the Hebrew prophets foresaw the distant future. In particular, Christians thought that the prophets had foreseen the life and circ*mstances of Jesus the Messiah. […] However, this conception of prophecy as prediction of the distant future has disappeared from most serious scholarship today, and it is widely recognized that the NT ‘fulfillment’ of the OT involved much that the OT writers did not foresee at all. […] [T]here is no evidence that they foresaw with precision even a single detail in the life of Jesus of Nazareth». In The Glory of the Lord, vol VI: Theology: The Old Covenant, trans. by B. MCNEIL and E. LEIVA-MERIKAKIS, T&T Clark, Edinburgh 1991, p. 402, H. VON BALTHASAR states that «the historical-critical method has destroyed the old form of the argumentum ex prophetia, which understood sayings of the old covenant as having been spoken with direct reference to Christ».

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speaking of a far-distant Messiah, whose future coming was not relevant to the existential needs of the people23. A partial answer to this argument has already been given: the unity of God’s linear-historical plan implies that far-distant events could in fact be relevant to the Israelites of ancient times, even to their existential hopes and fears. A complete answer would require discussion of the most perfect mode of participation, by which the historical persons and events of ancient times could receive a property of the mystery of Christ. To say that a prophetic utterance was made about an ancient person or event does not exclude the possibility that the utterance was also about Christ –a nominalistic separation of Israel and Christ. It is this most perfect mode of participation that Fr. Martin has in mind when he defines the spiritual sense as an anticipatory participation in the mystery of Christ. The persons, objects, and events of the Old Testament received various partial shares in the form of Christ’s mystery in dependence on that mystery as an architect’s painting is ordered to the actual house he will build. Now that we have reviewed Thomas’s notion of participation and examined how that might play out in a discussion of Scripture, we must see whether this corresponds in fact to the traditional understanding of the spiritual sense of Scripture. Following Fr. Martin, I will look to Thomas himself as «a clear exponent of the tradition»24.

3. The Spiritual Sense of Scripture Thomas discusses the senses of Scripture in several places. He gives the same distinction everywhere between the literal and spiritual senses, so I will begin with what is probably his earliest but most complete treatment of the subject in Quodlibetal 7, Question 6. Thomas discusses the senses of Scripture in three articles: (1) whether beyond the literal senses other senses lie hidden in the words of Sacred Scripture; (2) whether the senses of 23

See BROWN, Birth, ibid. Of course, the notion that the prophets were speaking to the concerns of their own time did not suddenly appear in the modern era, but its use as a hermeneutical principle to exclude prophecy of Christ is distinctively modern. For an overview of the development of this view, see J. HAYES, «Prophecy and Prophets, Hebrew Bible», in J. HAYES (ed.), Dictionary of Biblical Interpretation, Abingdom, Nashville 1999, pp. 310-317. For some corrections on what Hayes says about Theodore of Mopsuestia, see MARTIN, Sacred Scripture, pp. 260-262. 24 MARTIN, Sacred Scripture, p. 263.

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Scripture should be distinguished into four; (3) whether the spiritual senses are found in other writings besides Scripture. This division follows his standard approach to a subject, namely an sit (whether any sense beyond the literal exists), quomodo sit (how the various senses are related to one another, etc.), and conclusions that follow upon these considerations (the absence of these senses in non-biblical writings). By providing an account of the existence of the spiritual senses, the argument of the an sit question also provides a definition of the spiritual senses; this definition is extended and clarified by the argument of the quomodo sit. The answer to whether any spiritual sense exists is Thomas’s distinction between literal and spiritual senses of Scripture, which is founded on the way Augustine distinguishes them in De Doctrina Christiana. Augustine says25: For signs are either literal or figurative. They are called literal when they are used to designate those things on account of which they were instituted; thus we say bos [ox] when we mean an animal of a herd because all men using the Latin language call it by that name just as we do. Figurative signs occur when that thing which we designate by a literal sign is used to signify something else; thus we say bos and by that syllable understand the animal which is ordinarily designated by that word, but again by that animal we understand an evangelist, as is signified in the Scripture.

The strength of this division is that it is a division of signs as signs. It does not divide one sense of Scripture from another on the basis of the subject matter or on the basis of how accessible it is to the reader as Origen seems to do, but on the basis of the way the signs themselves signify26. On Augustine’s proposal, a literal sign signifies by convention, while a figurative sign signifies by similarity to the thing signified. The word bos does not resemble a beast of the field, but can signify a beast thanks to convention; there is no convention to establish a beast of the field as a sign of an evangelist, but the beast can signify an evangelist thanks to a certain similarity between the two. This is a per se division of signs. The weakness of Augustine’s approach is that it leaves no distinction between metaphor and spiritual sense, a weakness shared by Origen’s 25 26

Book 2, chapter 10. De Principiis 4:2.

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approach27. Thomas strikes at the root of the problem in Article 2, reply to objection 1, where he points out that the Augustinian approach fails to distinguish between real things and imaginary things. When someone says «Achilles is a lion», the word «lion» conjures up the image of a lion in the imagination, and that imaginary lion in turn signifies Achilles; there is no real lion outside of my mind that signifies Achilles. To address this lack in Augustine’s thought, Thomas turns to Augustine himself as a guide. Augustine writes28: All doctrine concerns either things or signs, but things are learned by signs. Strictly speaking, I have here called a «thing» that which is not used to signify something else, like wood, stone, cattle, and so on; but not that wood concerning which we read that Moses cast it into bitter waters that their bitterness might be dispelled, nor that stone which Jacob placed at his head, nor that beast which Abraham sacrificed in place of his son. For these are things in such a way that they are also signs of other things. There are other signs whose whole use is in signifying something. From this may be understood what we call «signs»; they are things used to signify something.

In his attempt to distinguish between the way in which the words of Scripture are signs and the way in which the things of Scripture are signs, Augustine points out that the words of Scripture have no other use than to be signs; they are ordered only to this. The things [res] of Scripture, even when they are ordained by God to signify, also have their own proper functions as things. Continuing the reply cited above, Thomas applies Augustine’s own insight to the distinction between imaginary things and real things: «The goat or other such things [used in Dan 8:5 as a metaphor for the king of the Greeks] are not things [res aliquae], but imaginary likenesses brought forward only for the purpose of signifying those persons. But even those things that happen in the truth of the thing are ordered to signifying Christ as a shadow to the truth». In Article 3, Thomas repeats Augustine’s insight about things that have their own proper functions as things: «The 27 The confusion of metaphor and spiritual sense seems related to Augustine’s high estimation of the hagiographer’s understanding: if the inspired writer knows fully the spiritual meaning of the things he describes, then they will function in his text in a way very similar to metaphor or to the figure of speech called allegory by the rhetoricians. 28 Bk 1, ch 2, pp. 8-9.

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spiritual sense of Scripture is taken from the fact that things pursuing their own course signify something else». The reply to objection 2 contrasts things that have their own proper course to pursue with mere metaphor: «Poetical fictions are not ordered to anything else but to signifying; hence such a signification does not pass beyond the mode of the literal sense.» This phrase about things «pursuing their own course» points to the fact that the res bearing the spiritual sense of Scripture have their own integrity as historical persons, objects, or events. Thomas makes the same point in another way in his treatment of the ceremonial precepts of the Old Law29: As the ceremonial precepts figure Christ, so also the histories of the Old Testament, for it says in 1Cor 10:11 that «everything happened to them in a figure.» But in the histories of the Old Testament, besides the mystical or figural understanding [intellectum] there is also a literal understanding [intellectum]. Therefore the ceremonial precepts also have literal causes in addition to figural causes.

Here Thomas looks to the close relationship between sensus and intellectum. While this discussion takes place in the context of Augustine’s discussion of signs and signification so that «meaning» is a good translation of sensus, Fr. Martin reminds us that for the patristic or medieval author sensus also means intellectum, «understanding»30. Thomas’s argument points to the fact that one can understand Scripture at the literal level as well as at the spiritual level: what is recounted at the literal level has its own intelligibility. Because a thing is understood through its causes, Thomas is led to speak of «literal causes», a useful term for those linear-historical links that establish the Old Testament res as a historical reality with its own integrity and function apart from being a sign. With this background, one can rightly understand Thomas’s division in Article 1 between the literal and spiritual senses:

29 ST I-II, q. 102, a. 2, sed contra: «Sicut praecepta caeromonialia figurabant Christum, ita etiam historiae Veteris Testamenti: dicitur enim I ad Cor. X 11, quod omnia in figuram contingebat illis. Sed in historiis Veteris Testamenti, praeter intellectum mysticum seu figuralem, est etiam intellectus litteralis. Ergo etiam praecepta caeremoniala praeter causes figurales, habebant etiam causas litterales». 30 MARTIN, Sacred Scripture, pp. 249-250.

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The Author of things is able not only to mould words to signifying something, but can even dispose one thing to be a figure of another. In accord with this, the truth is manifested in Sacred Scripture in two ways. In one way, according as things are signified by the words, and in this consists the literal sense. In another way, according as things are figures of other things, and in this consists the spiritual sense.

Taken at face value, it would seem that ceremonies of the Old Law that commemorate God’s benefits would signify those benefits by way of the spiritual sense. For example, the Passover celebration is not a word of Scripture but a thing, and it signifies the exodus from Egypt. But Thomas argues that «the significations of ceremonial laws that are commemorative of the benefits of God on account of which they were instituted do not go beyond the order of literal causes»31. A ceremony such as the Passover has its entire reason for being in its signification; it does not have its own integrity as a linear-historical event apart from this signification; the «literal cause» linking it to other historical realities is precisely its signification. Properly understood, Thomas’s definition of the spiritual sense does not apply to this case. These distinctions are also helpful for dealing with situations in which the human author knew and intended the spiritual sense. Augustine held that the authors of Scripture always and fully understood the signs they wrote about32; because on this account the human author himself intended the signification of the thing, Augustine ends up treating the spiritual sense as a kind of metaphor. For example, the author of the books of Kings understood the Temple to be a sign of Christ, and so it is much the same as though he had used «Temple» as a metaphorical way of speaking about Christ. Although one may doubt that every human author understood every spiritual sense in his writings –Augustine himself entertains the possibility that the author does not know every possible meaning– still there do seem to be cases in which the human author is aware in some way that the thing 31 ST I-II, q. 102, a. 2, ad 1: «[S]ignificationes caeremoniarum legis quae sunt commemorativae beneficiorum Dei propter quae institutae sunt, vel aliorum huiusmodi quae ad illum statum pertinebant, non transcendunt ordinem litteralium causarum.» 32 On Christian Doctrine, Book 3, chapter 13. The translation used is that by D.W. ROBERTSON Jr., Liberal Arts Press, New York 1958.

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he describes is a sign33. In this case, Thomas’s principles would force us to say that the same thing is signified at the same time by the literal and spiritual senses: that is to say, there is a real Temple that signifies Christ and there is a mental Temple in the mind of the author that signifies Christ, but these are two different ways of signifying. The author can cause the Temple in his mind to signify Christ, but he cannot cause the real Temple in its linear-historical integrity to signify anything at all34. The distinction between spiritual and literal lies not in what is signified but in how it is signified35. Let me summarize what has been said to this point. The literal and spiritual senses have different «modes» or ways of signifying, but the difference is not between signification by convention and signification by similarity, as it was for Augustine. According to Thomas, the literal sense uses signs that are only signs, whose whole purpose for being is to signify, while the spiritual sense uses signs that also have their own historical integrity and proper functions as things. This sharpening of Augustine’s definition is at the same time a completion of his thought and retains the strength of his division as being a division of signs per se. It remains true for Thomas as for Augustine that the spiritual sense operates by way of a similarity between the sign and the signified. What separates the metaphor from spiritual sense is that the sign, and indeed the very similarity possessed by the sign, has the richness and integrity of a being in the world. The necessary elements of a spiritual sense are therefore: (1) one reality must bear a likeness to another; (2) the signifying reality must have its own proper functions and place in the flow of history aside from being a sign; (3) the likeness of the one reality to the other must be ordained by the divine will to signifying the other.

On Christian Doctrine, Book 3, chapter 38. Another example may be helpful. Supposing that during Old Testament times there were a billboard on the road from Jericho to Jerusalem which said, «The Messiah is coming», the billboard would be a thing, and it would signify Christ, and it would be intended to do so. Yet the billboard’s signification would not be an example of the spiritual sense, because a billboard’s entire reason for being is exhausted in its signification; it is not a thing pursuing its own course apart from its sign value. 35 I am indebted to conversation with Dr. Michael Waldstein of Ave Maria University for the point made in this paragraph. 34

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4. Anticipatory Participation as the Spiritual Sense of Scripture The ontological grounding Thomas sees God as providing for the spiritual sense lies in the resemblance between a biblical res in its linear-historical intelligibility and the mystery signified. If the notion of «anticipatory participation» is a development of the traditional spiritual sense of Scripture, it will be a deeper penetration into the nature of this ontological resemblance of Scriptural res to the mystery of Christ. For the moment, let us take a simple example of intentionally crafted resemblance, namely a painting. The model that stands for the painting is its exemplar cause, the extrinsic form to which the image is adapted. The painting receives the model’s features, but in a partial way—flat, without human texture, perhaps with subtle flaws or intentional distortions. The painting participates the features of the model. The language of participation is able to penetrate and illuminate the realities at play in this example, and by extension in any similar case of an intentionally crafted resemblance. Although the example of a painting focuses on the superficial, it is not impossible that such a model of participation could illuminate certain aspects of the spiritual sense of Scripture. For example, one reason God intended the liberation from Egypt to take place by a passage through water could be for the sake of an external resemblance to Baptism. But the spiritual sense of Scripture is not limited to such surface features of Old Testament realities. The exodus prefigures baptism by its nature as a liberation from bondage to the enemies of Yahweh more than by the surface features of water and cloud. An example of this deeper resemblance can be found in Thomas’s discussion of the Old Testament sacrifices36. The very nature of sacrifice, Thomas says, is that man offers something to God from his own possessions as though to acknowledge that he has all his possessions and indeed his very self from God and that everything he has and is must be directed to God. This is the most important «literal cause» of the Old Testament sacrifice, namely the need to represent and bring about a right disposition of the mind towards God. But the greatest gift that God could possibly give to mankind is the gift of his own son in the Incarnation. Therefore, the sacrifice of his own son was the most perfect of all sacrifices: «And for this reason all the other sacrifices were offered in the Old Law in order to 36

ST I-II, q. 102, a. 3c.

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figure this one unique and foremost sacrifice, as the perfect [is signifed] by the imperfect»37. The language of participation applies well here. The divinely instituted rituals were adapted by their Author to the likeness of the perfect sacrifice of Christ on the cross; the Old Testament sacrifices receive the form of Christ’s death in a partial way, while the passion itself has the perfection of atoning sacrifice in a complete and unlimited way. Examples like the Old Testament sacrificial rituals suggest that Fr. Martin is correct to define the spiritual sense of Scripture as «the anticipatory participation of Old Testament realities in the mystery of Christ». However, we must not forget that the New Testament itself has been traditionally understood as bearing a spiritual sense inasmuch as it prefigures the state of glory. In this case, we can say with Fr. Martin that the New Testament contains an anticipatory participation in the state of glory, but we have to add that the Old Testament «anticipates» the more perfect participation of the New while not «participating» in the New in the strictest sense of that term. «Participation» in the strict sense only applies where the New Testament has the final and perfect form of the mystery in question. In these cases where the state of the New Testament is intermediate between the state of the Old Testament and the state of glory, Thomas’s analogy of a single motion toward a goal is helpful: while both the Old and the New are participations in heavenly glory, the Old is less perfect than the New and progresses toward heavenly glory precisely by passing through the New. It does not point to the final state of glory independently of the New, but by anticipating the New. The development of Thomas’s thought on the spiritual senses illustrates this last point. In his earlier treatment of the senses of Scripture, Quodlibetal 7 Question 6, he first divides the spiritual sense into those meanings ordered to right belief and those meanings ordered to right action, and defines the latter as the moral sense. Then he says that the allegorical sense is that sense founded on the way the Old Testament signifies the New, while the anagogical sense is that sense founded on the way the Old and New Testaments together signify the state of heavenly glory. Stated this way, it seems that the Old and New Testaments are equal with regard to the moral and anagogical senses: both Old and New can signify what a Christian should do and what a Christian will be. In his later works he 37

ST I-II, q. 102, a. 3c.

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adopts a different division38. Insofar as the Old Testament signifies the New Testament there is the allegorical sense; insofar as the mysteries enacted in Christ signify what we should do, there is the moral sense; insofar as these same mysteries signify the state of glory, there is the anagogical sense. In this division, the moral and anagogical senses of Scripture are signified exclusively by the mysteries enacted in Christ, and he stipulates that the Old Testament signifies the Christian life and the state of glory only insofar as it signifies Christ. In light of this point, we can define the spiritual sense of the Old Testament as the anticipatory participation of Old Testament realities in the mystery of Christ’s first and second comings, provided it is understood that the Old Testament participated in the mystery of Christ’s second coming precisely by anticipating the mystery of his first coming. With the same caveat in mind, we can define the spiritual sense more generally as the meaning placed by God in the realities of Scripture insofar as the Old Testament participates in the New Testament, the New Testament participates in the state of glory, and –to include the moral sense– the body of Christ participates in the Head. As a last note I want to point out that in speaking of the very linearhistorial realities of the Old Testament rituals as a participation in the mystery of Christ, we must be careful that we do not empty the Old Testament realities of intrinsic theological worth39. A comparison with Thomas’s treatment of the speculative sciences is helpful in this regard. In his treatise on beatitude, Thomas asks whether man’s beatitude can consist in pondering the speculative sciences. Of course, Thomas will say that man’s beatitude is in heaven, in face-to-face communion with the triune God, but he does not resort to an either/or approach40:

In Gal., ch. 4, lect. 7; ST I, q. 1, a. 10c. Cf. B. CHILDS, The Struggle to Understand Isaiah as Christian Scripture, Eerdman’s, Grand Rapids MI 2004, p. 163, «Although Thomas’s ontological approach acknowledges the theological substance of the Old Testament, his great emphasis on the New Testament as the goal of the Old Testament promise is such that its theological role can become blurred or even concealed». In other words, Childs sees Thomas as more successful than those before him because of his «ontological approach», but less than fully effective in bringing his principles into practice. 40 ST I-II, q. 3, a. 6c: «Respondeo dicendum quod, sicut supra dictum est, duplex est hominis beatitudo, una perfecta, et alia imperfecta. Oportet autem intelligere perfectam beatitudinem, quae attingit ad veram beatitudinis rationem, beatitudinem 39

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As was said above, man’s beatitude is of two kinds, one perfect, and the other imperfect. Now one must understand perfect beatitude as that which attains to the true notion [ratio] of beatitude, and imperfect beatitude as that which does not so attain, but participates a certain particular likeness of beatitude.

Note that Thomas does not deny that man’s beatitude consists in thinking on the speculative sciences, but calls such activity an imperfect beatitude, a participation in true beatitude. It does not have the full form or vera ratio of beatitude, but has the form of beatitude in a partial manner. In the same article, an objector argues that the final beatitude of man would seem to consist in that which all men desire for its own sake; Aristotle says that «all men desire to know», and that the speculative sciences are sought for their own sakes; therefore it would seem that the speculative sciences are man’s final end41. St. Thomas does not respond by saying that only God is to be desired for his own sake, but in the language of participation: «Man naturally desires not only perfect beatitude, but also any kind of likeness or participation in it»42. Thomas freely grants that the speculative sciences are desired for their own sake, that is to say, for the goodness which is in them. They are not desired as means to a further end, to some goodness outside of them. But the goodness in them is an imperfect form of a greater goodness, and so love for the imperfect goodness of the speculative sciences is in fact an implicit love for the perfect goodness of true beatitude. Thomas can say both that we should love the sciences for their sake, and that we should direct all our love to God. Bringing the same principle to bear on the realities of the Old Testament, we can say that the rituals of the Old Testament were more than empty gestures pointing to a future of «real» worship. Precisely because they were participations in the paschal mystery, they were good in themselves and intrinsically worthy of reverence43. By the same token, autem imperfectam, quae non attingit, sed participat quandam particularem beatitudinis similitudinem.» 41 ST I-II, q. 3, a. 6, ob 2. 42 ST I-II, q. 3, a. 6, ad 2: «Ad secundum dicendum quod naturaliter desideratur non solum perfecta beatitudo, sed etiam qualiscumque similitudo vel participatio ipsius. » 43 Speaking of the worship offered by Abel, Abraham, and Melchizedek and mentioned in the First Eucharistic Prayer of the Missal as reformed by Pope Paul VI,

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when David was afraid because he had laid his hand upon the Lord’s anointed (1Sam 24:5-6), he reverenced Saul in himself, for the fact that the Lord’s anointing was on him; but the essence of the anointing on Saul was a participation in the fullness of Jesus the Christ, and so David’s reverence was in fact a reverence for Christ44.

Conclusion We have seen how a participatory understanding of reality leads one to the both/and of Catholic thought. Further precision about the analogical meanings of participation made it possible to see salvation J. RATZINGER says, «The Fathers were right to see ‘types’ of Christ in the three figures who are mentioned […] The true meaning of what people call ‘inclusivism’ becomes apparent here: it is a matter, not of absorbing other religions externally, on the basis of a dogmatic postulate, as would do violence to them as phenomena, but of an inner correspondence that we may certainly call finality: Christ is moving through history in these forms and figures, as (again, with the Fathers) we may express it». See Truth and Tolerance: Christian Belief and World Religions, trans. by H. TAYLOR, Ignatius, San Francisco 2004, p. 97. 44 Lacking the technical precision of Thomas’s doctrine on participation, Augustine appears intuitively to recognize but verbally to deny the intrinsic worthiness of the Old Testament realities. In On Christian Doctrine, Book 3, chapter 6, he seems to recognize the value of the temple and sacrificial rituals even as his conceptual structure of «sign» and «thing» inhibits his expression: «But this servitude among the Jewish people was very different from that of others, since they were subjected to temporal things in such a way that the One God was served in these things. And although they took signs of spiritual things for the things themselves, not knowing what they referred to, yet they acted as a matter of course that through this servitude they were pleasing to the One God of All whom they did not see». The participatory exposition given above seems to bring this insight of Augustine to its natural completion. Similarly, in Book 17, chapter 6 of The City of God, Augustine says of Saul that «the oil with which he was anointed, and from that chrism he is called Christ, is to be taken in a mystical sense, and is to be understood as a great mystery; which David himself venerated so much in him». This seems very close to what the participatory interpretation of David’s insight given above, yet Augustine goes on to say, «Therefore he showed so great reverence to this shadow of what was to come, not for its own sake, but for the sake of what it prefigured». See The City of God, trans. by M. DODS, The Modern Library, New York 1993, p. 583. This tension in his exposition arises from an appreciation of the spiritual meaning of Old Testament realities combined with a lack of philosophical tools for expounding it.

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history, prophecy, and the spiritual sense of Scripture in a complex unity of anticipatory participation in the mystery of Christ. We have seen that the philosophical notion of participation deepens the traditional view of the spiritual sense of Scripture at its heart, namely in the ontologically grounded likeness of biblical realities to the mysteries of Christ’s first and second comings, while simultaneously insuring the value of the literal sense by illuminating the intrinsic worth of those past persons, institutions, and events. As conversation continues about the renewal of Catholic biblical scholarship, I propose that Thomas’s doctrine on participation will offer a path to the fruitful recovery and deepening of traditional exegesis.

PIOTR ROSZAK* THE PLACE AND FUNCTION OF BIBLICAL CITATIONS IN THOMAS AQUINAS’S EXEGESIS

Commendations of Aquinas’s exegesis have resounded since the times of Peter of Tarentaise (died in 1276) and even Erasmus of Rotterdam himself praised Aquinas for his exegetic meticulousness, the profoundness of his genius, reliable erudition and ability to use all the scientific aids (subsidia scientifica) which were available in his times1. Furthermore, contemporary Protestant exegesis, which is visible in the publications of Marcus Barth2, perceives Aquinas as a valuable and sensitive interpreter of the Holy Scripture, frequently referring to his suggestions. Nevertheless, the interpretation of the biblical commentaries of Aquinas, frequently constructed from biblical citations which are not seemingly connected by any theological motif and based only on terminological associations, may cause numerous difficulties for the contemporary reader accustomed to other methods of interpretation of a biblical text. To understand the Summa Theologiæ and not to be deluded by a superficial reading, it is vital to discover first the governing plan which gives the reflection a natural rhythm and determines the role of each element of quaestio in the Summa. A similar procedure has to be applied to biblical commentaries. It is important to understand the «supporting structure» of the commentary which somehow lifts the remaining elements and organises the interpretation. One such element which is frequently omitted during the reading of Thomas’s text is biblical references to other books of the Old and New Testament3. They are quoted at various stages of text interpretation with the commentary introducing or explaining their *

Adjunct Professor; Faculty of Theology, Nicolaus Copernicus University, ul. Gagarina 37, 87-100 Toruń (Poland), [emailprotected] 1 D. ERASMUS, In Novum Testamentum annotationes, Basilea 1535, p. 336 (In Rom 1,4). 2 M. BARTH, Ephesians. Translation and commentary, Doubleday, New York 1974. It is worth mentioning that M. Barth in his interpretation of the Letter to the Ephesians quotes Thomas Aquinas 76 times. 3 R. COGGI, «Le caratteristiche fondamentali dell’esegesi biblica di S. Tommaso», Sacra Doctrina, 35 (1990), 534.

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function or without any formula. It is frequently very visible on the first pages of the commentaries that Thomas simply juxtaposes the citations, as is the case with the prologues to individual books, when he selects a citation which according to him explains the content of the book. An example of this is his commentary on Colossians, where 1 Mac 3:3 («He protected his camp with his sword») marks the division of the letter; as Thomas points out directly, the words used in this citation from the Book of Maccabees congruunt reflect the subject matter of the book4. Reflecting on the function of citations in biblical hermeneutics of Aquinas, it is worth emphasising that his style of exegesis, typical of the academic environment in the Middle Ages, is characterised by its symptomatic brevity in which biblical citations cannot be treated only as an ornament in the text or simple exemplification of the conducted reflection. The aim of this article will be to present the basic functions of biblical citations in the commentaries of Aquinas to the books of the Old and New Testament, the main models of their presence and, especially, to uncover the theological foundations hidden behind this practice. The following should not remain unnoticed: using citations from other biblical books, explaining the Old and New Testament by means of the other, but also giving voice to certain citations and distinctions suggested by them, which later shape the form of the explication argument of the given book or even divisio textus, which is crucial for a medieval exegete5. It is governed by a certain logic which testifies to the «depth» of the biblical text; Thomas’s probe explores areas much more complex than simple philological and intertextual analyses. A biblical citation embedded by Aquinas in his exposition plays the role of a hermeneutic channel which reaches to the resources of the revealed truth whose topicality cannot be limited to one historical period only. Thomas understood perfectly well the topicality of the Word of God. Therefore in his commentaries there are no reinterpretations or a retrospective treatment of citations but an in-depth investigation of the biblical text and illumination with the light 4 In Col., prol.; See J. HAMESSE, Les Prologues médiévaux, Brepols, Turnhout 2000 (Textes et Études du Moyen Âge, 15). 5 Cf. M. HEALY, «Aquinas’s Use of the Old Testament in His Commentary on Romans», in M. DAUPHINAIS - M. LEVERING (edd.), Reading Romans with St. Thomas Aquinas, Catholic University of America Press, Washington D.C. 2012, p. 183. It will not be possible here to present an exhaustive historical study of this topic; however, in certain cases we will rely on other earlier authors or Aquinas’s contemporaries.

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coming from other fragments of the Sacra Scriptura. Thomas does not use citations in a manner which would suggest their instrumentalisation or in order to prove the previous theses but citing resembles the uncovering of the subsequent layers of the text, going lower as if going to the bottom in order to discover all the connections and layers of the biblical text. Simply, Thomas speaks plainly through the citation. This is also his voice which the reader of the commentary cannot ignore. Therefore citations appear practically at every stage of Thomas’s exegetic study, starting from the prologue, in proposed major and minor divisions (divisio maior and menor) and in detailed explanations.6 The citations are frequently interwoven in Thomas’s own argument and explained with a specific authorial intrusion so that each part of the sentence cited from the Scripture has its own clarification: «I Io III, 2 cum apparuerit, id est, revelabitur, similes ei erimus, scilicet omnia scientes»7. As may be observed, the citation has been divided into parts in order to be commented with the use of intrusions which start with id est or scilicet. Thus quotations are preceded by the introduction revealing their function, namely, the justification of the undertaken theme, differentiation and confirmation of a chosen interpretation. It is clearly visible thanks to such expressions as ut dicit or unde dicitur and other introductory formulas8. But there exists one more formula of citations in which they remain somehow «pasted» in the argument, included without any commentary at the end of Thomas’s interpretation of a given biblical passage, frequently quoted one by one, including one to four citations. The text of the commentary quotes only the first words of the citation, probably assuming their familiarity among the listeners. Especially this second case will be the subject of my reflection in this article.

6 See A. T. SULAVIK, «Principia and Introitus in Thirteenth Century Christian Biblical Exegesis, with Related Texts», in G. CREMASCOLI - F. SANTI (edd.), La Biblia del XIII secolo. Storia del testo, storia dell’esegesi, Galluzzo, Firenze 2004, pp. 269321. 7 In Col., cap. II, lect. 1. 8 Rabbis used the formula «as it is said»; St Paul in his letters slightly modified it, using the expression «as it is written».

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1. The Outline of Biblical Citations in Patristic and Medieval Literature Thomas, who is described by some modern researchers even as Doctor graecus, educated in both the monastic school lectio divina and the faculties in Paris and Cologne, knew the method of exegesis typical of the Church Fathers he quoted in the course of his study. However, it cannot be forgotten that he became acquainted with the patristic exegesis when working on Catena Aurea9. This is a special work in which citation plays a key role and it is not a simple compilation as it leads Thomas’s way of reasoning. Before I proceed to the reflection on citations in Aquinas’s exegetic system it is worth contrasting them briefly with the earlier practice. Rabbinic exegesis, whose medieval version could be accessible to Aquinas thanks to Moses Maimonides10, was, on the one hand, almost legendarily literal, carefully analysing particular words and terms, as well as restrictive when it comes to using the Word; however, on the other hand, it was frequently arbitrary and used a particular verbiage11. It also focused on explaining the biblical text word by word using a characteristic homiletic approach based on moving specific historical events to different times. Rabbinic exegesis was based on illustrating or preceding the thoughts of the author with a citation or biblical maxim and also on a clear or implicit reasoning which combined the text with the presented theses12. Patristic exegesis which developed typologies emphasising the central role of Christ in the history of salvation and experienced the tension between literary and allegorical interpretation, which found its expression in the discussions of the Antiochian and Alexandrian schools, had to refer to this rabbinic practice. When patristic authors quoted biblical texts in 9 D. M. GARLAND, «St. Thomas, Doctor Graecus? A Rapprochement Between Irenaeus and Aquinas on Salvation», Heytrop Journal, DOI: 10.1111/heyj.12047. 10 Maimonides, named by St. Thomas as Rabbi Moyses, appears almost 78 times in the whole Corpus Thomisticum. Aquinas frequently refers to his knowledge of Jewish customs and interpretation of the Old Testament: see W. Z. HARVEY, «Maimonides and Aquinas on Interpreting the Bible», Proceedings of American Academy for Jewish Research, LV, Jerusalem – New York 1988, pp. 60-77; L. JANSEN, «Thomas von Aquin liest Maimonides: eine argumentationstheoretische Analyse», Kirche und Israel, 19 (2004) 121-138. 11 See J. J. COLLINS, «Rabbinic exegesis and Pauline exegesis. 1, Rabbinic exegesis», Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 1(1941) 15-26. 12 For more details, see: R. GORDIS, «Quotations as a Literary Usage in Biblical, Oriental and Rabbinic Literature», Hebrew Union College Annual, 22 (1949) 157-219.

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their apologetic works, the texts were frequently condensed and shortened, which might have resulted from using notes. They sometimes cited a short commentary of another author who had quoted a given passage before.13 Frequently, the authors used so-called free quotations, which played the role of a paraphrase, or citations referring to their own memory, as it was in the case of Justin, which rendered the main message but not the verbal meaning14. In the case of medieval exegesis, the most important is the proper meaning of the quoted text and therefore Thomas took care to indicate the source from which he quoted. In medieval biblicism it was vital for developing theological argument. St. Bonaventure acted in a similar way in his biblical commentaries, although it is very rare to encounter accumulations of biblical citations without any commentary there. Generally, the quotation is introduced with the help of a special formula15.

2. Theological Framework of Thomas’s Citation Practice Looking back on the practice of biblical citations used by Thomas it is worth underlining its theological background. Why is it important? What kind of idea is hidden behind such a treatment in commentaries?

2.1. Hermeneutic Premises The main principle of Thomas’s exegesis is the conviction about the unity of truth and the holistic understanding of the history of salvation. It finds its full expression in the manner of treating the Holy Scripture as a unity and not as a conglomerate of selected books read in isolation16. It was explained by Aquinas at the beginning of his didactic work in Principium, 13

A. VAN DEN HOEK, «Techniques of quotation in Clement of Alexandria. A view of ancient literary working methods», Vigiliae Christianae 3(1996) 235. 14 W. PETERSEN, «Patristic Biblical Quotations and Method: Four Changes to Lightfoot’s Edition of Second Clement», Vigiliae Christinae, 4 (2006) 389-419. 15 CH. OCKER, «Medieval Exegesis and the Origin of Hermeneutics», Scottish Journal of Theology, 3 (1999) 328-345. 16 See R. L. WILKEN, «Interpreting the Bible as Bible», Journal of Theological Interpretation, 1 (2010) 7-14.

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in which he established the basic dimensions of his hermeneutic method. The priority of the unity of the salvation plan is visible in the specific exegetic procedures which enable the author to refer to the Old Testament when undertaking questions associated with the New Testament17. What kind of purpose do the citations serve in exegesis? Their aim is to show the hermeneutic environment revealing all the dimensions of the undertaken theme, which is adequate for interpretation of the biblical text. It has to be emphasised that in Thomas’s texts those citations are not pure indications of parallel places but their deep enrichment. It is as if someone has been switching on subsequent lights in order to illuminate the theme from various perspectives and has not been satisfied with the onesidedness of the depiction. Thomas does not treat the citation as some type of «cemented truth» which would serve as a simple justification of theological theses, but as a real treasure of the Church. Relying on the biblical text signifies that Aquinas starts his theology from the faith of the Church and Her writings. He is directed by the conviction about the Providence of God, who marks the direction of history, and all the biblical books render His intention for us to be redeemed. In order to understand references to metaphysics, surprising for modern exegetes, which Thomas discovers, for example, in the commentary on John, it is necessary to understand history in the biblical perspective18. The Bible locates us with regard to history understood not only in the linear but also participatory sense; history is an ecclesial conversatio with the Triune God, the Creator and Redeemer of history19. Taking into consideration this particular understanding of history we are able to grasp why Thomas, in a way that is surprising for us, quotes biblical citations which do not seem to match a given biblical passage. Without understanding Thomas’s historical sensitivity many of his exegetic procedures remain unclear.

17 C. M. MCGINNIS, «Stumbling over the Testaments: On Reading Patristic Exegesis and the Old Testament in Light of the New», Journal of Theological Interpretation, 1 (2010) 15-31. 18 M. M. ROSSI, «L’attenzione a Tommaso d’Aquino esegeta», Angelicum, 76 (1999) 74. 19 J.-P. TORRELL, «Le côté historien de Thomas d’Aquin», Memoire Dominicaine, 20 (2006) 11-27.

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2.2. The principle locum ex loco The use of citations cannot be artificially separated from Thomas’s perception of the role and identity of the exegete. His aim was to create theological synthesis and not to impose his own visions. Thomas allows the Word of God to lead him to extract the truth from it. Undoubtedly, Thomas fully shares the conviction that it is necessary to interpret the Scripture through Scripture. It results from the fact that God is the auctor principalis of the Holy Scripture and He leads the history of mankind. This intrabiblical explanation is Thomas’s echo of listening to the Fathers of the Church, who repeated that Novum in Vetere latet et in Novo Vetus patet – in the Old Testament the New is concealed, in the New the Old is revealed20. However, these connections between the New and the Old Testament are not always visible and we cannot be deluded by the verbal parallelism. An apt example is the prologue to the Letter to the Colossians, in which Thomas states that «therefore the Church resembles the camp. (Gen 32:2) This is God’s camp».21 For Thomas the prediction of the Church in the Old Testament is an episode from the life of patriarch Jacob, who on his way for the meeting with Esau noticed God’s angels and called this place the «camp of God». This conviction about the necessity of reading the Bible through the prism of the Bible as a single work leads Aquinas to focus on the customs of inspired authors who understood the modus loquendi of the biblical text22. This is the case of the commentary on Ephesians which throws some light on the method of explaining the Scripture using other fragments of the Bible. Thomas when elucidating how St. Paul explained some complex issue acts in the following manner: 20

It is expressed for Thomas in an allegorical way by the torn curtain of the temple in the hour of Christ’s death, as he states in his commentary on Galatians, which is an illustration of the permeating of two testaments and of revealing the meaning of the Old Testament. See In Gal., cap. III, lect. 8: «vel in eam fidem, quae revelanda erat tempore gratiae, in antiquis temporibus multis signis latens. Unde et tempore Christi velum templi scissum est, Matth. XXVII, 51». 21 In Col., prol. 22 In Iob, cap. I: «Hoc autem symbolice et sub aenigmate proponitur secundum consuetudinem sacrae Scripturae, quae res spirituales sub figuris rerum corporalium describit, sicut patet Is. VI 1 vidi dominum sedentem super solium excelsum et elevatum, et in principio Ezechielis et in pluribus aliis locis».

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In this regard it should be known that the customary procedure of the Apostle, when speaking of a difficult subject, is to explain what went before by what immediately follows. This is not verbal proliferation but an exposition; and this method the Apostle uses here23.

In the case of the commentary on Ephesians, quoted above, Aquinas refers to the explanation of the words of St. Paul within the letter; the subsequent fragment of the Letter is the prism which allows us to understand better the earlier words of the Apostle. It is clearly visible that the quotation fulfils the role of the premise, as he himself describes it, namely the base for the whole reflection and the foundation on which the argument is based. According to his method of harmoniously combining synthesis and analysis, which is not always easy to achieve, Thomas proposes accurateness and clarity instead of hasty reflection on the Word of God24. He encourages the listener to return to the earlier presented exposition, which gives the lecture more legibility. It is worth remembering that the oral form of Thomas’s expositio came first. Causing this «reverse movement», the quotation somehow unites the statement and throws new light on the undertaken theme.

3. Biblical citations in the hermeneutic cycle of Aquinas As i have demonstrated before, the reflection on the use of citations in the exegetic procedure of Aquinas, their place and aim cannot be limited to the instrumentalisation of the biblical text, which may be freely manipulated and treated as a simple confirmation of the previously selected theses. This type of treatment of the biblical text is unknown to Thomas Aquinas’s practice, which gives the theological and logical priority to the text, behaving as a musician, to make use of an interesting metaphor by M. Healy25, who does not «use» the notes on the score but plays them, 23 In Eph., cap. I, lect. 2: «Propter quod sciendum est, quod est consuetudo apostoli, ut cum loquitur in aliqua difficili materia, quae immediate sequuntur, sunt praemissorum expositio, nec est ibi inculcatio verborum, sed expositio, et hunc modum servat hic apostolus». 24 M. PALUCH, Dlaczego Tomasz, Instytut Tomistyczny, Warszawa 2012, p. 23. 25 HEALY, «Aquinas’s Use of the Old Testament», p. 184.

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creating an original interpretation, based, nevertheless, on the foundation of the notation. Thomas does not ruin the integrity of the citations, changing or violating their original context, but builds a new synthesis which being rooted in the history of salvation displays a fuller meaning of certain events. This demonstrates that Thomas in his exegetic practice does not approach the biblical text in closed categories, but reaches to the history of salvation as the right point of reference in the history of the text. Quoting is not the juggling but the sensitivity of a theologian who is aware of the participative dimension of history26. This is not adjusting something by force to prove the earlier thought-over thesis, but allowing the Word of God to guide you. The reading of the Word of God was the part of the university curriculum which was based firstly on «systematic», cursory reading, namely entering the text of the biblical book through reading it sentence after sentence. This is how the theological studies began and the work of a young lecturer, that is a biblical bachelor, at the medieval Faculty of Theology was based on it. Thomas also gave those kind of lectures as testified by the commentary on the Book of Isaiah. This is an important aspect of medieval theological didactics; the plunging into the Word of God, becoming acquainted with it, which allows scholars to comment on given books and to discover quickly analogies and interconnections27. Before medieval universities were formed, this had been the task of monastic lectio divina, but even at a medieval university, this method did not disappear completely; however, the emphasis had been shifted from the spiritual to literal meaning. Nevertheless, the practice of the closeness to the Word of God remained. All this leads to the demonstration of the primacy of the Word of God for Aquinas, from which sacra doctrina started. Therefore quotations are not a group of linguistic terms or representations, but a real beginning of theological thinking. Quoting and relying on them when forming divisions 26

Postmodern hermeneutics in such a reductionist manner interprets the whole medieval exegesis. See A. KOCH, «Interpreting God’s truth: a postmodern interpretation of medieval epistemology», International Social Science Review, 3-4 (2002) 47-60. 27 C. R. SNEDDON, «The ‘Bible du XIIIe siècle’: its Medieval Public in the Light of its Manuscript Tradition», in W. LOURDAUX – D. VERHELST (edd.), The Bible and medieval culture, Leuven University Press, Leuven 1984, pp. 127-140. See also E. LOWE, The Contested Theological Authority of Thomas Aquinas: The Controversies Between Hervaeus Natalis and Durandus of St. Pourcain, 1307-1323, Routledge, New York 2003, especially chapter 1.

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or explaining the theme of the book is not based on simple associations but on highlighting different elements of the same reality as we are not concerned with the circ*mstantial development of events but with the logos of history. Aquinas quotes many texts from memory, providing normally a book and chapter and therefore his citations are not always exact. As Gilbert Dahan, an eminent expert on Aquinas’s biblical hermeneutics, observes it is difficult to point out unequivocally what type of biblical text St. Thomas used in his work as a commentator28. The copies of the Bible which Thomas owned do not suggest anything, as the study of A. Dondaine demonstrates29. Thomas uses different variants of the biblical text. In the case of the commentary on Psalms he himself gives examples of three different editions of Psaltery employing characteristic formulas alia littera or nostra littera30. However, it appears that the main text is the one similar to the Bible of St. James but it is not treated as official or authoritative. Therefore when reading the commentaries it is important to take into consideration this aspect of the work of Aquinas. Only then are we able to interpret gradually his intention of including the particular passage of the Scripture next to the explanatory passus. Frequently, they are rooted in traditional references to quotations, for example in emphasising possibilities of knowing God in the First Letter to the Romans, but in many cases they are originally authorial, revealing Thomas’s intention. The dynamics of exposition is not diminished in Thomas’s case by the fact that the biblical citations are clearly marked with sigla and chapters. However, we have not answered the question why Thomas includes those and not other quotations in his commentaries on the books of the Old and New Testament. What determines his choice? 28

G. DAHAN, «Les éditions des commentaires bibliques de Saint Thomas d’Aquin. Leur apport à la connaissance du texte de la Bible au XIIIe siècle», Revue des Sciences Philosophiques et Théologiques, 89 (2005) 9-15; G. LOBRICHON, «Les éditions de la Bible latine dans les universités du XIIIe siècle», in G. CREMASCOLI – F. SANTI (edd.), La Biblia del XIII secolo, Galluzzo, Firenze, pp. 15-34. 29 A. DONDAINE, «Praefatio», in Thomas de Aquino, Expositio super Iob, Ed. Leonina, t. XXVI, Romae 1965, pp. 20*-25*. These copies are now deposited in Viterbo and Turin. 30 P. ROSZAK, «Collatio sapientiae. Dinámica participatorio-cristológica de la sabiduría a la luz del Super Psalmos de santo Tomás de Aquino», Angelicum, 3-4 (2012) 749-769.

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3.1. Accumulation of citations When we open practically any biblical commentary of Aquinas, especially the so-called cursoric ones, which are the result of his lectures as baccalaureus biblicus, but also in Corpus Paulinum, we encounter not only quotations which appear in the course of the lecture but also those which are set together without any introductory formula. They give the impression of abundant loose documentation which accompanies the main idea of the lecture. What is the purpose of this «accumulation» of biblical citations? Undoubtedly, they build the «scriptural imagination», which acts as a specific nervous system where interconnections are vital, creating a certain Christological resonance. It cannot be denied that the juxtaposition of quotations from different books of the Old and New Testament is helpful, especially when building an allegorical interpretation. Furthermore, those accumulations help to experience a certain theological pressure of biblical quotations whose aim is to keep the exegesis close to the Scripture and not to lead it in the direction of divagations unrelated to the scriptural theme. Even in the exegetic practice of the Church Fathers there existed a method of accumulating quotations based on terminological similarities, for example combining biblical phrases with the verb “to see” in order to demonstrate its meaning rich in theological connotations. Simultaneously, this practice had also a formative aim of creating familiarity with the Word of God and of shaping the awareness of biblical language in the reader, thanks to which the real meaning of history is revealed and it is possible to discover it as an event of moving from littera to sensus31. A good example of this type of practice of juxtaposing quotations is Thomas’s commentary on Psalm 15, in which he uses three quotations showing the nature of the will of Christ, who as a man obeyed his Father: Et sciendum, quod voluntas Patris sicut voluntas Christi est, et inquantum hom*o, ut impleat voluntatem patris: Ps. 39: ut faciam voluntatem tuam, Deus meus volui: Thess. 4: haec est voluntas 31

See W. ŚWIERZAWSKI, Egzegeza biblijna i teologia spekulatywna, Wydawnictwo Wrocławskiej Księgarni Archidiecezjalnej, Wrocław 1984, p. 37.

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Dei sanctificatio vestra: Jo. 6: descendi de caelo non ut faciam voluntatem meam, sed voluntatem ejus qui misit me, Patris, ut omne quod dedit mihi, non perdam, sed resuscitem illud in novissimo die32.

We can see three quotations (Ps 39, Thess. 4 and Jn 6) connected by the term voluntas one by one. However, our reflection cannot be finished now as each of the quotations shows a somehow further way for an exegete. They focus on the question of fulfilling God’s will, understanding God’s will by Jesus and on the meaning of «God’s will» as such. It may be seen that this is not a phenomenon of simple resonance when one quotation evokes the other on the basis of straightforward linguistic associations but a thematic opening of exegesis for new questions. It may resemble the widening of circles which encompasses a diverse range of motifs. Thus, the accumulation of quotations serves to emphasise the multifacetedness of the theme. Furthermore, it is worth pointing out that the accumulation does not refer only to the testament but Thomas attempts to introduce a «circular» movement. It is visible in the lecture on the Ephesians where he indicates the triple sources of God’s sublimity, seeing them in the sublimity of divinity, universal range of given grace and in the realm of His power which encompasses everybody. In order to express it Thomas resorts to a number of quotations from the Old and New Testament. Dignitatem autem eius commendat ex tribus. Ex altitudine divinitatis, cum dicit qui est super omnes. Ps. CXII, 4: super omnes gentes dominus, et cetera. Ex amplitudine eius potestatis, cum dicit per omnia. Ier. c. XXXIII, 24: caelum et terram ego impleo, et cetera. Ps. VIII, 8: omnia subiecisti sub pedibus, et cetera. Lc. X, 22: omnia mihi quippe tradita sunt, quippe quia omnia per ipsum facta sunt, Io. I, 3. Sed modo quo dicitur Sap. XI, 21: omnia in numero, et pondere, et mensura disposuisti. Ex largitate gratiae, cum dicit et in omnibus nobis, scilicet per gratiam. Ier. XIV, 9: tu autem in nobis es, domine, et cetera33.

The implications of the same truth are juxtaposed: the presence of God in the world sustaining everything in existence (Jer 33), dependence of the 32 33

In Ps., 15, n.3. In Eph., cap. IV, lect. 2.

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creation on the Creator, who gave man dominion to rule over the world (Ps 8), but everything was surrendered to Christ (Lk 10) because through Him everything was created (Jn 1). Using one quotation, which is the fifth one in order, accompanied by a short introduction, he develops the content of the last quotation emphasising “how” the world was organised according to measure, number and weight (Wis 11). Intrabiblical associations, which Aquinas introduces to his interpretation of the Scripture, may «slow down» exegesis, but this practice indicates that too hasty exegesis may miss some important «door» which opens up. The door which gives hope for the light. However, it is necessary to pose a question what type of criteria governs the choice of the quotations. There appear to be two main criteria, namely, the terminological and thematic associations.

3.2. Per verbum Although this kind of treatment may surprise with its rigidity it is a watermark of Thomas’s exegesis. This is a very specific form of the socalled reference exegesis which constructs the network of connections between the texts based on verbal associations. An example of this method is the lecture on Galatians in which Thomas, reflecting on patience (patientia), places two quotations side by side, so that this word is used in different contexts: Sed ad hoc perficit Spiritus Sanctus per patientiam, quae facit adversa patienter tolerare, et ideo dicit patientia. Lc. XXI, 19: in patientia vestra possidebitis animas vestras. Iac. I, 4: patientia opus perfectum habet34.

However, the role of an exegete is not finished when the appropriate material is accumulated because Thomas’s verbal associations introduce 34 In Gal., cap. V, lect. 6. A similar practice is visible in the lecture on the Letter to the Ephesians when the word beneplacitum is used: In Eph., cap. I, lect. 3: «Licet autem quidquid Deo placet, bonum sit, hoc tamen beneplacitum Dei anthonomastice bonum dicitur, quia per ipsum ad perfectam fruitionem bonitatis perducimur. Ps. CXLVI, 11: beneplacitum est domino super timentes eum, et cetera. Rom. XII, 2: ut probetis quae sit voluntas Dei bona, et beneplacens, et perfecta».

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the «circular movement».35 Another example of this method of conducting exegesis is the passage from the lecture on Colossians where the word solicitude (sollicitudo), characteristic of the apostolic work of St. Paul, finds its apposition in two quotations: Rom 12:8 and Lk 2:1836. Insofar as the first reference does not surprise («If you are in a position of leadership, lead with diligence and zeal»), the reference to the shepherds guarding their sheep in Bethlehem fields demands from the reader some questions. What is Aquinas’s concern? In Lk 2:18 the word sollicitudo does not appear in a straightforward manner but it is referred to the word custodire. It is commonly known that the image of guarding sheep by shepherds is present in the Bible, but Lk 2: 18 seems to suggest something more, namely the care not to close the sheepfold itself and separate it from others but to bring it closer to Christ. The superior of the community is a person who is watchful to hear the voice of the Lord, like the shepherds in Bethlehem. He does not come to Jesus alone but with his sheep.

3.3. Per ideam Biblical citations appear in Aquinas’s commentaries in order to reveal the wider historical context and connect events with each other as the main hermeneutic assumption is the existence of the one salvation plan. It signifies that when reading citations it is not sufficient to rely on the verbal associations only but it is necessary to investigate res and their message in the same way as it is with faith which does not concentrate solely on the word (it is not the faith in words) but goes further towards the reality which is represented in the faith formulas from the credo.37 This is the reason why Thomas does not limit himself in the commentaries to presenting what Evangelists and St. Paul thought on a given subject, but he penetrates the essence of those issues asking about the nature of God’s providence and justice. Using the citations he creates a specific mosaic which is an answer 35 G. DAHAN, «Exégèse et théologie dans le commentaire de Thomas d’Aquin sur la Seconde Epître aux Corinthiens», in Thomas d’Aquin, Commentaire de la Deuxiéme Épître aux Corinthiens, trad. J.-É. STROOBANT DE SAINT-ÉLOY, Cerf, Paris 2005, p. XV-XXVI. 36 In Col., cap. II, lect. 1. 37 ST II-II, q.1, a.2, ad 2: «Actus credentis no terminatur ad annuntabile, sed ad rem».

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expressed in various tones, to the key questions concerning the mystery of God. It is not only the answer coming from the text but what the truth of the sentence is. An example of such a procedure is the reflection on faith which is described by both a very precise definition and by three biblical references: unde dicit fides, quae est cognitio quaedam invisibilium cum certitudine. Gen. XV, 6: credidit Abraham Deo, et reputatum est ei ad iustitiam. Hebr. XI, 6: accedentem ad Deum oportet credere, et cetera. Et ideo Eccli. I, v. 34: beneplacitum est Deo fides, et mansuetudo, et cetera38.

In this fragment it is clearly visible that we deal with a complementary description through a definition and quotations. These two elements cannot be separated because only together do they express Aquinas’s idea. Pointing to Gen 15:6, Heb 11:6, Sir 1:34 Thomas does not rely on a pure linguistic game as he reaches for different terms, fides and credere, but there is a very thorough explication of the quotation. In the definition it is explained what type of cognition characterised by invisibility and certainty Thomas refers to and the quotations move the reflection on faith to a different level of trust in God and His plans, as was the case with Abraham; faith is seen as an introductory condition of a developed relation with God and the awareness that the attitude of faith is beloved of God. Continuing with the theme of faith and its proclamation, in the commentary on Ephesians Thomas quotes two citations to illustrate the nature and dynamics of this ministry. Both quotations come from the Old Testament: Sir 24:30 («qui audit me, non confundetur») and Pro 15:30 («auris quae audit increpationes vitae, in medio sapientium commorabitur»)39. Similarly to earlier analysed examples, they are also a very interesting extension of the main interpretative motif referring to the Old Testament.

4. In the Web of Citations? Using quotations as an integral tool of his exegetic method, Thomas does not juxtapose side by side loose end biblical allusions but he also 38 39

In Gal., cap. V, lect. 6. In Eph., cap. IV, lect. 5.

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assesses and selects one out of many interpretative options, which is testified by the formula sed prima expositio est melior40. It is worth emphasising that the «cycles» of quotations created in this manner are wider and such a reading of the commentary is not tedious when one recognises the hidden aim of the author. It is not some form of mnemonic practice but it is an in-depth theological method of creating a basis for reflection which does not concentrate on secondary motifs but from the centre heads for the periphery41. Although the arrangement of quotations in the commentaries creates a certain sequence, it is worth highlighting that it forms a coherent lecture which leads to an extensive undertaking of vital questions. It is clearly visible in the commentary on Ephesians where Aquinas stops at the term veritatem facientes. He explains that the truth is a positive work which cannot be only listened to or preached but it should be realised, which Thomas bases on 1 Tim 4:16, Jas 1:22, Rom 2:13 in order to notice that love is the best form of realising the truth (its form), which he confirms referring to 1 Cor 16:13 and 1 Cor 13:342. These quotations are separated with the formulas propter quod dicitur, ut habetur or ut dicitur. Perhaps an inexperienced reader may encounter difficulties studying the stitched pattern of quotations which resembles a carpet observed from the wrong side where different threads of various colours and dimensions are entangled, but when he turns it to the other side everything makes sense and has its irreplaceable position. It is similar with Thomas’s quotations, which give the impression of being tangled but once the key has been found it reveals for the reader of the Word of God the significant plan of the Creator. 40

In Eph., cap. V, lect. 6. K. F. MORRISON, «Interpreting the fragment», in P. J. GALLACHER – H. DAMICO (eds.), Hermeneutics and medieval culture, State University of New York, Albany 1989), pp. 27-37. 42 In Eph., cap. IV, lect.5: «Veritas autem quandoque dicitur omne opus bonum, ut Tob. I, 2: in captivitate tamen positus viam veritatis non deseruit. Faciamus ergo veritatem, scilicet omne opus bonum, vel veritatem doctrinae: quia non sufficere nobis debet audire vel docere veritatem, sed oportet facere; propter hoc dicebat apostolus I Tim. IV, 16: hoc enim faciens, et teipsum salvum facies, et eos qui te audiunt. Estote ergo factores, etc., ut dicitur Iac. I, 22; quia factores iustificabuntur, ut habetur Rom. c. II, 13. Et hoc si fiat in charitate, quae est forma boni operis. I Cor. XVI, 13 s.: viriliter agite, et confortetur cor vestrum, et omnia opera vestra in charitate fiant: quia certe aliter nihil valerent. I Cor. XIII, 3: si tradidero corpus meum, ita ut ardeam, charitatem autem non habuero, nihil mihi prodest». 41

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Thomas repeatedly gives the key to the reading of his text and leads the reader through asking questions to the texts as is the case in the lecture on the Letter to the Ephesians where he reflects on the Christian vocation. After using the quotations from Heb 3:1 and 1Cor 1:26, which are the calling to cherish hope, Thomas asks: «could anyone explain who has called us and why?» Thomas’s answer is composed of two quotations 1 P 5:10 and Rev 19:9. He does not use his words as the Scripture is the answer.

5. Models Having presented the criteria and principles of the selection of biblical citations i wish to pay attention to several varieties of their presence in the works of Thomas Aquinas. The selection criterion is the function which biblical citations fulfil in exegesis as their role in each case is not identical. This classification attempt is not exhaustive but merely emphasises the most important use of citations in the biblical commentaries of Thomas Aquinas.

5.1. Hermeneutic breakthrough – a quotation which transforms interpretation Sometimes Thomas’s quotations act as a «railroad switch» which changes the direction of text interpretation introducing a new train of thought. It is associated with the conviction which has been mentioned earlier that the quotations play the role of premises for the undertaken reflection and are not merely the illustration of the theme. Frequently, the sequence of quotations whose common denominator is a certain primary verbal association, for example being far from God, ultimately indicates new interpretative directions, especially spiritual ones: there is a place for those who came from afar (Is 60:4) or like in Mk 8:3, where there is a fragment in which Jesus’ listeners came from afar, not in the sense of a faraway place but that they were far in terms of merits43. Sometimes the interpretative breakthrough in Aquinas’s exegesis is marked by a certain didactic formula known from quaestiones disputate. 43

In Eph., cap. II, lect. 4.

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An example might be videtur quod, which makes the impression of anticipating possible questions of the reader towards the text. This practice is well-illustrated in the lecture on Ps 43(44) where Thomas, introducing divisions, quotes Ps 120 «My refuge in the Lord». This particular passage raises a question about the situation in which it appears that man has no refuge in God. Exegesis being under the clear influence of Ps 120 follows a different route which is delineated by the biblical text itself44.

5.2. Simile habetur. A quotation which extends interpretation Explaining a biblical text Thomas also employs the so-called parallel places characteristic of Christian exegesis. He does so through the formula «likewise we have» (simile habetur), which as Corpus Thomisticum demonstrates, is used only in biblical commentaries. Reading Jesus’ call to follow him and the request of one of the listeners to bid farewell to his family at home (Mt 8) Aquinas notices that a similar scene took place in the life of Eliseus because the prophet bid farewell to his family there. This raises a question about the differences when following Jesus45. In another situation, during the prayer in Gethsemane Jesus leaves in order to pray before His passion. For Aquinas, this gesture of abandoning the disciples brings to mind the scene with Abraham, who on his way to sacrifice Isaac on Mount Moriah asks his servants to remain at the foot of the mountain (see Gen 22:5)46. It is difficult to believe that these are only superficial associations. For Thomas every detail is important like in the Gothic cathedral. It is symptomatic that the analogy between these two scenes has not been explained in a straightforward manner as it is done by contemporary exegetes; it seems that Aquinas «leaves» his listener with this text all alone. Undoubtedly, it is significant that Thomas practises a certain model of teaching and the ideal of a master whose role is to accompany his disciple on the way to understand the text himself and not to understand the text for him. It is worth accentuating this didactic motif which is the foundation of many procedures of Thomas Aquinas47. 44

In Ps., 43, n. 5. In Matt., cap. VIII, lect. 3. 46 In Matt., cap. XXVI, lect. 5. 47 Coggi, Le caratteristiche fondamentali, p. 534. 45

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The extension of interpretation through a quotation is a characteristic feature of Aquinas’s commentaries. They may astonish a contemporary reader as is the case with the lecture on Colossians. In order to explain why Paul is accompanied by Timothy as mentioned in the Letter, Thomas simply quotes Pro 18:19: «A brother who is helped is more steadfast than a fortress», opening in this way an exceptionally complex reflection on the communal character of apostolate so familiar to the Dominican spirituality48. Similarly, in the Gospel according to Matthew, Aquinas proves that the Church has the special right to be named the house because Christ dwells there corporally through the sacrament» (corporaliter in sacramento). After these words he quotes Ps 147:20 «this he has not done for other nations»49. Simultaneously, according to Thomas’s explanation, the original association of the word opens a new context, namely, the renewal of everything which happens through the mystery of Christ results from the fact that it is done because of man. As a confirmation Thomas quotes Am 9:11, where God obliges Himself to restore the temple of David and wall up its breaches, etc. The quoted passages demonstrate that Thomas is not satisfied with one level of interpreting the text as almost every thought is based on double levels as if he has been looking for new dimensions, being afraid of depriving the text of its deeper meaning50.

5.3. Propter hoc dicitur. Quotation which exemplifies interpretation Quotations which appear in Thomas’s exegesis frequently confirm the accepted interpretation and are the sign of medieval exegetic thinking51. However, it does not stop at the simple «evidence in a case» in the form of today’s quotation whose aim is to guarantee the correctness of reasoning. Thomas proceeds further. An excellent example is the commentary on Psalms and, especially Ps 4, where Aquinas stops at the words: Signatum est 48 In Col., cap. I, lect. 1. See A. GHISALBERTI, «L’esegesi della scuola domenicana del secolo XIII», in La Biblia nel Medio Evo, a cura di G. Cremascoli, EDB, Bologna 1996, p. 299. 49 In Matt., cap. XXI, lect. 1. 50 In Eph., cap. I, lect. 3. 51 L. DE SANTIS, «L’esegesi biblica di Tommaso d’Aquino nel contesto dell’esegesi biblica medievale», Angelicum, 71 (1994) 509-536.

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super nos lumen vultus tui, Domine, which he interprets in the perspective of the baptismal way of imitating Christ. Enumerating all the «marks» which take place in Christian life he points out that this fragment refers to being marked with the cross which was impressed on us during baptism and with which we have to imprint ourselves every day52. This idea is illustrated by Thomas with a slightly surprising reference to Song 8:6 «Set me as a seal on your heart». Is it only a simple, instinctive association of a theologian who knows the Scripture or makes use of concordance? Through the quotation Thomas expresses more, demonstrating a certain ideal of exegetic work which sends us further opening up new interpretative directions. This insatiable hunger for the Word of God, typical of Thomas, is visible here in a humble manner. In the context of Song 8:6 it is an indication of the firmness of the sealed cross, which is the sign of «remembering» love. On a cursory examination of the same quotation from Song 8:6, which appears in Aquinas’s texts four more times and functions in other contexts, illustrating other elements, we reach the conclusion that Thomas’s idea is to indicate a concern so that baptism will not be forgotten in everyday life but shape it and become a «seal of love». We cannot be misled or misdirected by the formulas unde dicitur or ut dicitur, which for the contemporary reader of biblical commentaries act as a certain «reduction of pressure» and therefore may be omitted when reading the work. However, it is not the case, as similarly to propter hoc dicitur the above mentioned formulas establish a theological relation between a systematic reflection of Aquinas and a quotation. Simultaneously, they create a network of intrabiblical associations revealing the sense of certain plans of God53.

52 In Ps., 4, n. 5: «Signatum est super nos lumen vultus tui, domine et cetera. Vultus Dei est id per quod Deus cognoscitur; sicut hom*o cognoscitur per vultum suum, hoc est veritas Dei. Ab hac veritate Dei refulget similitudo lucis suae in animabus nostris. Et hoc est quasi lumen, et est signatum super nos, quia est superior in nobis, et est quasi quoddam signum super facies nostras, et hoc lumine cognoscere possumus bonum. Ps. 88: in lumine vultus tui ambulabunt et cetera. Super hoc autem signamur signo spiritus. Eph. 4: nolite contristare spiritum sanctum in quo signati estis. Et iterum signo crucis, cujus signaculum nobis impressum est in Baptismo, et quotidie debemus imprimere. Cant. 8: pone me ut signaculum super cor tuum». 53 In Eph., cap. V, lect. 9. Cf. A. PARETSKY, «The Influence of Thomas the Exegete on Thomas the Theologian: The Tract on Law (Ia-IIae, qq.98-108) as a Test Case», Angelicum, 71 (1994) 565.

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On the one hand quotations may serve as a simple exemplification of a discussed truth constituting a strictly biblical documentation but on the other hand, they may visualise a realisation of God’s prediction and promise. Gifts of grace and glory which are mentioned in the lecture on Ephesians are illustrated in Ps 83:17, 2 P 1:4 and in the Old and New Testament using the future tense (dedit) and the past tense (donavit)54. We touch upon an important reference and function of quotations, namely their aim to position a reader in a broad historical and salvation context. Another interesting example is the same commentary to Ephesians (Eph 4:9), where Thomas indicating two possible interpretations of “descending in the lower parts of the world” decides that the more appropriate is the one which refers not so much to the lower part of the world as being «beneath the heavens» but to hell. As a confirmation of such a reading he uses simply three quotations: Zec 9:11 («I shall release your prisoners from the ancient cistern»), Rev 10:1 («Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven») and Ex 3:7 («I have seen the humiliation of my people in Egypt»).55 All these quotations have, as a common denominator, God’s intervention, saving from a desperate situation, where God demands for the faithful to keep to the Law of God. Thomas associates this descending of Christ for those enslaved by sin with Israel’s exodus from slavery, the symbol of lack of food and with the Last Judgment over the world. This is the exemplification the reading of which must take place on a deeper level after discovering a common denominator. 5.4. Quotation which introduces the spiritual sense If the literal sense is associated with discovering the meaning of the text (quem auctor intendit),56 the spiritual sense, in contrast, refers to the things, 54

In Eph., cap. IV, lect. 3: «Non solum autem homines a Diaboli captivitate eripuit, et suae servituti subiecit, sed etiam eos spiritualibus bonis dotavit. Unde subditur dedit dona hominibus, scilicet gratiae et gloriae. Ps. LXXXIII, 12: gratiam et gloriam dabit dominus. II Petr. I, 4: per quem et pretiosa nobis promissa donavit, et cetera». 55 In Eph., cap. IV, lect. 3: «Et sic videtur hoc eis convenire quod dixerat: captivam duxit captivitatem. Zach. IX, 11: tu quoque in sanguine testamenti tui eduxisti vinctos tuos de lacu, in quo non erat aqua. Apoc. X, 1: vidi alium Angelum fortem descendentem de caelo, et cetera. Ex. III, 7: vidi afflictionem populi mei qui est in Aegypto, etc.; et sequitur: et descendi liberare eum». 56 Th. PRÜGL, «Thomas Aquinas as Interpreter of Scripture», in R. VAN NIEUWENHOVE – J. WAWRYKOW (eds.), The Theology of Thomas Aquinas, Notre Dame

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institutions or events rendered or described by the text. They illuminate and indicate the culmination of God’s plan in Christ (the allegorical sense), new quality of life in Christ (the moral sense) or final realisation in glory (the anagogical sense). For Thomas, as M. Healy observes, this is the key to proper exegesis, as «whereas human beings write with words, God writes with history»57. The uniqueness of the Holy Scripture is based on the presence of the spiritual sense, its incomparability with any other book because God is the author of the Scripture and He may make some events predict the mystery of Christ58. Therefore it is not surprising that in many cases the citations clearly and silently assume the Christological sense. In the interpretation of the spiritual sense, for example circumcision in the lecture on Romans, Thomas frequently follows St. Paul, rarely suggesting his own solutions59. In the case of the commentary on Psalms it is a very common procedure but it appears also in relation to Corpus Paulinum. Explaining the Letter to the Colossians and elucidating the truth about the nature of Christ’s resurrection as the act of the Father and also of the Son, Thomas surprisingly cites the fragment of Ps 107:3 «I will awake the dawn»60. It is clear only if we realise that Psalms are for Thomas the voice of Christ according to the Augustinian interpretation, which perceived Psalms as the voice toti Christi, the Head and the members. This indicates clearly that one of the significant functions of quoted citations was to discover the spiritual sense. Thomas remained consistent in his method, repeatedly accentuating the primacy of the literal sense on which the spiritual sense could rely. It constituted a certain barrier against the uncontrollable practice of entire liberty and arbitrariness in the choice University Press, Notre Dame 2005, pp. 386-415, here p. 405. It is worth emphasizing that Thomas understands intendere not as a subjective authorial intention, but rather in the philosophical sense which reflects a more objective reference established by the text. The literal sense is always definitely associated with the plan of God, who is the main author of the Scripture. 57 HEALY, «Aquinas’s Use of the Old Testament», p. 188. 58 See Quodl., VII, q.6, a.3; In Ps., prol.: «Notandum autem, quod aliud est in sacra Scriptura, et aliud in aliis scientiis. Nam aliae scientiae sunt per rationem humanam editae, haec autem Scriptura per instinctum inspirationis divinae». 59 In the case of the Letter to the Ephesians (In Eph., cap. I, lect. 8) he follows, for example, Dionysus –«Christus, etiam secundum quod hom*o, Angelos illuminat et in eis influit, ut Dionysius probat ex verbis Is. LXIII, 1 scilicet: quis est iste, qui venit de Edom, etc., dicens haec verba esse supremorum Angelorum». 60 In Col., cap. II, lect. 3.

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of the spiritual sense and, within it, the allegorical one, which tempted many of Thomas’s contemporaries. Still, Thomas remains a master of “balance”. It cannot be forgotten that, for Thomas, similarly to many other medieval exegetes the border between the literal and spiritual sense was not a demarcation line but rather a flexible one where the spiritual interpretation appears spontaneously as the sign of the vitality of the Word of God and the possibility of understanding it on many levels. The model of such an interpretation might be the reflection of Aquinas on the nature of contemplation which is present in the lecture on Ps 54, the last one that survived to our times. He interprets there the flight of the raven and dove set free by Noah in order to check the state of the earth after the deluge as the division into two types of people contemplating the truth. The first group are the philosophers who keep the learning of the truth for themselves whereas a dove returning with an olive branch resembles saints who are able to sympathise with others like a simple, kind and lamenting dove. Furthermore, ascending, and flying denotes contemplation61. In some cases, Thomas not only supplies an exact allegorical commentary but also dissects the quotation itself, introducing his spiritual interpretation. Commenting the Letter to the Ephesians he introduces at some point a note (notandum quod), in which he emphasises that in heaven we will rejoice with knowing God and the glorious understanding of mankind, which is confirmed by his interpretation of J 10:9: «ingredietur, scilicet in contemplatione divinitatis, et egredietur, scilicet in contemplatione humanitatis, et pascua inveniet»62. Thomas rendered the significance of the spiritual sense with a beautiful metaphor inspired by Ps 8, where the title of the psalm refers to torcular, a tool which was used for pressing grape juice in the production of wine: «Item a verbis litteraliter positis separatur sensus spiritualis»63. A similar sense is found in the reading of the miracle about the multiplication of the loaves related in Mt 14. For Thomas, the leftovers that filled twelve baskets are, in a mystical way, the spiritual sense which wise people are able to gather.64 61

In Ps., 54, n.5. In Eph., cap. III, lect. 5: this is the quotation: «I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved; he will go in and out freely and find food». 63 In Ps., 8, n.1. 64 In Matt., cap. XIV, lect.2: «Mystice per fragmenta intelligitur sensus spiritualis, qui a turbis non capitur, sed in cophinis, idest in sapientibus». 62

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5.5. Citations in sed contra Biblical quotations appear also in a particular context, in the question which although not as expanded as in the Summa Theologiæ, nevertheless is present in the course of the exegetic lecture. Quotations do not appear in isolation but Thomas attempts to precede them with various formulas (hoc quod dicit) which interrupt the explanation and lead to sed contra. In contrast to the Summa, the aim of sed contra in the biblical commentaries is not simply to refute the argument of the opponent but to notice a possible contradiction of various texts or recommendations of the Scripture. An example is the commentary on the Letter to the Galatians, where Thomas discovers in the Scripture the controversy about the quoted numbers: 430 or 40065. In another place, where St. Paul uses the term insipiens, he reflects how to reconcile it with the Lord’s call not to address anybody with the term Raca (Mt 5:22)66. The answer comes in the distinction of describing your neighbour with this word in anger (ex ira) or for his correction (ex correctione), which is the next contribution to discovering the literal sense for Thomas. In order to solve those and other similar challenges of the biblical text Aquinas acts in a different manner than modern exegetes who search for answers in the history of the text or in professing different theologies by biblical authors. Instead of contrasting different interpretations Thomas notices their complementarities, which result from the divine authorship of the Bible67. It is a clear application of a hermeneutic of faith which was characteristic of the patristic exegesis and for which Pope Benedict XVI has appealed recently68. Open conclusions For Thomas Aquinas the use of biblical quotations in the course of his exegetic argument is not the artificial «biblicising» by force of systematic theological reflections but a deliberate intention whose aim is familiarity 65

In Gal., cap. III, lect. 6. In 1 Cor., cap. XV, lect. 5. 67 J. BOYLE, «St Thomas Aquinas and Sacred Scripture», Pro Ecclesia, 4 (1995) 92-104. 68 R. E. MURPHY, «Patristic and Medieval Exegesis - Help or Hindrance?», Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 43 (1981) 505-516. 66

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with the Word of God. It stems from the conviction that God is the author of the Holy Scripture and His plan of salvation is realised at all stages of history. Thanks to it, one biblical quotation is able to illuminate another. Therefore the effort directed to ad intellectum litterae69 demands from Thomas as a biblicist receiving the «whole-canon hermeneutics»70. The accumulation of quotations which Thomas cites relying on verbal or ideological associations initially hinders the contact with Thomas’s commentaries for the contemporary reader; however, later they turn out to be the sign of Thomas’s deep concern about a certain type of reading of the Holy Scripture. This is the reading which is deeply immersed in the Word of God from which it derives refreshing juices. It is not a game with quotations as arguments but it is similar to the process of admiring a tapestry. When we look at it from the other side we see only a tangle of insignificant threads of different colours and lengths but when we turn it, a beautiful pattern intended by the author is revealed. Quotations fulfil the role of such threads which present the Scripture as a particular sign of God’s love for man.

In Hebr., cap. IX, lect. 2. M. LEVERING, Scripture and Metaphysics. Aquinas and the renewal of Trinitarian theology, Blackwell Publ., Malden 2004. 70

MAURICIO R. NARVÁEZ* INTENTION, «PROBABILES RATIONES» AND TRUTH: THE EXEGETICAL PRACTICE IN THOMAS AQUINAS THE CASE OF EXPOSITIO SUPER IOB AD LITTERAM

When Chenu in his famous Toward Understanding Saint Thomas (Introduction à l’étude de Saint Thomas d’Aquin)1 describes the characteristics of the scholastic exegesis, he uses the expression that Friar Thomas used to define the way in which the Book of Job, according to him, was written: «per probabiles rationes»2; but Chenu evokes this reference to insist not so much on the «probabiles» character of the words contents in the biblical book, but on the importance that scholastics give to look of «reasons» everywhere in the understanding of sacred texts. Another step, and here we are at the peak of this scholastic exegesis. The quest is for reasons, the reasons for things, for events, for words, for steps taken. Always it is supposed that the evangelist or the prophet had reasons in mind. […] The Book of Job purports to show per probabiles rationes [by means of probable reasons] that Providence governs human affairs. […] This quest for reasons reaches the point where the text is exegetically built up according to reasoning procedures3.

It is interesting to highlight the link established here by Chenu between the conception that scholastics had of the sacred text (a text * Institut Supérieur de Traducteurs et Interprètes. Charles Demeer 122, 1020 Brussels. [emailprotected] 1 M.-D. CHENU, Introduction à l’étude de saint Thomas d’Aquin, Institut d’études médiévales – Vrin, Montréal − Paris 1993, p. 215. 2 «Unde eorum qui divino spiritu sapientiam consecuti ad aliorum eruditionem, primum et praecipuum studium fuit hanc opinionem a cordibus hominum amovere; et ideo post Legem datam et Prophetas, in numero hagiographorum, idest librorum per Spiritum Dei sapienter ad eruditionem hominum conscriptorum, primus ponitur liber Iob, cuius tota intentio circa hoc versatur ut per probabiles rationes ostendatur res humanas divina providentia regi». In Iob, prol. p. 3. 3 M.-D. CHENU, Toward Understanding Saint Thomas, Translated by A.-M. LANDRY and D. HUGHES, Herny Regnery Company, Chicago 1964, p. 252.

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founded, inhabited of reasons) and the way in which these medieval exegetes approached the text («the quest is for reasons»). Now, it seems to me that we could make a similar link by exploring the other part of the expression «per probabiles rationes» and that Chenu left totally aside: the «probabiles» quality of these reasons. I wonder if the exegetical practice of Thomas Aquinas could not be qualified by this «probabiles» of the «per probabiles rationes». In this article, we are going to explore this characteristic in the Expositio super Iob ad litteram4. There will be three stages in our presentation. First, we are going to identify some elements which show the «probabiles» quality of Thomas Aquinas’ commentary. Then, we are going to present some elements which, at first sight, are in conflict with the first ones (logical structures, axioms, etc.); and finally, we are going to explore the articulation of these elements throughout the question of the dialogical intention (that is, the understanding of the biblical dialogues engaged between the different characters).

A. Probabiles rationes The expression «probabiles rationes» involves a fundamental tension which could be peculiar to the interpretation of texts, that is, for the exegesis or, more widely, for the hermeneutical practice. This tension, included in the «tendit» of «intentio auctoris», would mark at the same time the fundamental will of the commentator to grasp the «truth of the text» that is the «real meaning of the text» and a degree of uncertainty concerning this understanding. The place of the hermeneutical activity would thus be a will of grasping the truth and a possibility to approach it and an uncertainty on the fact of having grasped or not this truth, or in which degree. The question is to know whether the exercise of understanding and explanation of the Book of Job shows actually the marks of this «per probabiles rationes». Some insignificant particles presents in the Commentary in a constant, almost excessive way, will bring, according to me, the answer to our question.

Thomas Aquinas, Expositio super Iob ad litteram, ed. Leonina, t. XXVI, Rome 1965. 4

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1. Insignificant expressions 1.1. idest Throughout the commentaries, each verse which is commented is quoted and reformulated at first. This reformulation already marks at the same time a distance with regard to the original text and an attempt of equivalence or comprehension. The term «idest» claims this equivalence in the reformulation (extremely frequent, it appears 643 times in Expositio super Iob ad litteram)5, but it is an initial explanation, a clarification or a reformulation theoretically positioned. […] et hoc est quod dicitur Eratque vir ille magnus inter omnes Orientales, idest honoratus et famosus6. […] sicut in Exodo dicitur «sedit populus manducare et bibere et surrexerunt ludere», idest fornicari vel idolis immolare7. […] nisi in faciem benedixerit tibi, idest manifeste maledixerit, supple ‘male mihi accidat’8.

This formulation appears in any commentary of Thomas Aquinas (biblical or not), it appears especially in interpretative contexts, what explains that the number of cases in Summa theologiae (864 of 1573434 words) is inferior than in Super Ioannem (899 of 320019) or Sententia libri Metaphysicae (986 of 260960 words). 5

R. BUSA, «Index Thomisticus», in Corpus Thomisticum web edition by E. BERNOT and E. ALARCÓN, http://www.corpusthomisticum.org. 6 In Iob, cap. 1:3, p. 6. (English translation: «[…] and this is what the text means saying, So this man was accounted great among all the peoples of the East, that is, he was honored and respected.»). Throughout this article, I shall propose at the bottom of the page an English translation of texts quoted in Latin in the main part of this article. I shall quote the translation realized by B. MULLADAY and published on-line by J. KENNY (http:// dhspriory.org/thomas/SSJob.htm). I did not modify this translation, I just adapted the format to that of the Leonine edition. Afterward, I simply will indicate «B. MULLADAY translation». For the references, I shall always quote those of the Leonine edition. 7 In Iob, cap. 1:5, p. 7. (B. MULLADAY translation: «[…] as Exodus says, The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play, (32:6) that is, to fornicate and to sacrifice to idols»). 8 In Iob, cap. 1:11, p. 11. (B. MULLADAY translation: «[…] by taking it away, If he does not bless (benedixerit) you to your face, i.e. curse you openly (literally, “may misfortune come upon me”)»).

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1.2. Quasi dicat But the reformulation of a verse is not always introduced by «idest». In the Expositio super Iob ad litteram, it is connected 243 times to the expression «quasi dicat / diceret / dicerent»9. This expression is particularly interesting, because it marks more clearly the distance between the biblical verse and the statement which comments or reformulates it. It is not a question here of equivalence. It is about approximation, an attempt of formulation or reformulation which recognizes not to be the exact expression of the verse. This expression indicates explicitly at the same time a recognized distance and an attempt of closeness between text-source and comment, without any claim to a real equivalence. Hoc igitur bonum a nocte praedicta removet dicens non computetur in diebus anni nec numeretur in mensibus, quasi dicat: nox illa non est memoria digna cum nihil insigne in ea acciderit sed magis aliquid dolorosum10. Et quia hoc etiam videbatur irrationabile quod aliquis vitam abhorreret cum omnibus desiderabile sit esse et vivere, ostendit ex qua ratione id dixerit cum subdit nec abstulit mala ab oculis meis, quasi dicat: non ipsam vitam propter se abhorreo sed propter mala quae patior; etsi enim vita secundum se desiderabilis sit, non tamen vita miseriis subiecta11.

The use of this expression, at first sight banal, becomes significant as soon as we compare its frequency to other Friar Thomas’s works. At first, concerning the called systematic works, in the Summa theologiae 9

BUSA, «Index Thomisticus», http://www.corpusthomisticum.org. In Iob, cap. 3:7, p. 22. (B. MULLADAY translation: «He removes this good from the night about which he is speaking saying, Let it not be reckoned among the days of the year; let it not be numbered among the months. Here he says in effect: That night is not worth remembering since nothing important happened on it, but rather something which causes sorrow»). 11 In Iob, cap. 3:10, p. 23. (B. MULLADAY translation: «But since it also seems irrational for someone to detest life, when being and to living are desirable for all, he shows the reason why he has said this. Nor hide trouble from my eyes, as if to say: I do not detest living because of life itself, but from the evil which I suffer. For although life itself is desirable, yet a life subject to misery is not»). 10

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«quasi dicat» appears only 17 times12 (and always in hermeneutic context, obviously); in the disputations (Quaestiones disputatae and Quaestiones quodlibetales), the expression is practically absent (twice in total)13. Then, concerning the commentaries of Thomas Aquinas, the expression appears merely 49 times in the whole of Aristotle’s commentaries14, while in the biblical commentaries of the Old Testament it is used 77615 times (Expositio super Isaiam ad litteram 47 times from 100322 words16; Super Ieremiam et Threnos 105 times; Expositio super Iob ad litteram 233 times from 115239 words17; Super Psalmos 391 times 193567 words18). Regarding the Commentaries of the New Testament, I shall quote only the Super Ioannem which contains 269 times from 320019 words19 this expression and which exceeds widely in frequency all other New Testament’s commentaries. This quantitative superiority of both the biblical commentaries on Aristotle’s commentaries, and the Commentary of Job and of Psalms in the Old Testament requires an explanation. In fact, in order to accept the validity of the above data, it would be necessary to distinguish the critical editions of others; it would be also necessary to distinguish the works of Sententia type of those of Expositio type, and finally, it would be necessary to compare the number of occurrence with the total number of words contained in each work. Let us compare two works of the critical editions contained in the Index Thomisticus, one of Sententia type and the other of Expositio type. Instead of comparing the total number of words, let us make the comparison between both here evoked expressions: «idest» and «quasi dicat». For Sententia libri Ethicorum we have 555 times «idest» while the expression «quasi dicat» appears only 6 times20. In the Expositio super Iob ad litteram «idest» is present 643 times and «quasi dicat» 233 times21. 12

BUSA, «Index Thomisticus», http://www.corpusthomisticum.org Ibid. 14 Ibid. 15 Ibid. 16 Ibid. 17 Ibid. 18 Ibid. 19 Ibid. 20 Ibid. 21 Ibid. 13

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The difference is clearly illustrative. The almost complete absence of critical editions of biblical commentaries does not allow us to make systematic analysis. However we notice that in the current state of the Super Psalmos, the presence of this expression is very high, as well as in the Super Ioannem. The presence in these two commentaries is so massive that I doubt that the critical edition would change in a substantial way the number of occurrences, but let us stay with the only data of the commentary of the Book of Job and let us try to explain this difference compared to Aristotle’s commentaries. It seems to me that «quasi dicat» intervenes especially or more frequently in two occasions: where the statement commented expresses itself in figurative language and where this expression introduces the comment of a dialogue expressed in the textsource. Exemple: […] Sed hoc ostendit Iob esse contra naturam sensitivam: nam sensus non potest non refugere id quod est nocivum vel inconveniens, et ideo dicit aut poterit comedi insulsum quod non est sale conditum?, quasi dicat ‘non’, quia videlicet huiusmodi insipida non conveniunt ad delectationem gustus; et similiter ea quae non sunt delectabilia non potest cor hominis libenter acceptare, et multo minus illa quae sunt amara et noxia, unde subdit Aut potest aliquis gustare quod gustatum affert mortem?, quasi dicat ‘non’; et sicut hoc est impossibile in sensu exteriori, ita impossibile est quod ea quae per sensus interiores apprehenduntur ut noxia, sine tristitia recipiantur22.

22 In Iob, cap. 6:5, pp. 41-42. (B. MULLADAY translation: «Job demonstrates this to be against sensitive nature. For sense cannot but repulsed by the unsuitable and the harmful. So he says, Can tasteless food be taken without salt? implying the answer ‘no’, because such food without flavor is not fit to delight the sense of taste. Similarly, the heart of man cannot freely tolerate things which are not pleasant, much less things which are bitter and harmful. So he continues, Or can someone taste what once tasted brings death?, as if to say, ‘no’ here. Just as this is impossible for the exterior sense, so it is impossible that what is apprehended by the interior sense as harmful should be received without sadness»). «Et ad magnificandum huiusmodi tremorem subiungit et omnia ossa mea perterrita sunt, quasi dicat: tremor non fuit superficialis sed vehemens, qui etiam ossa concuteret; simile est quod habetur Dan. x8 “Vidi visionem hanc grandem et non remansit in me fortitudo, sed et species mea immutata est in me et emarcui nec habui in me quicquam virium”». In Iob, cap. 4:14, p. 30.

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1.3. Ac si dicat «quasi dicat» is one of the most representative expressions, but not the only one. We can quote others in hermeneutical context that have a similar role («videtur», «ut sit sensus», etc.). But let us stop a moment at the expression «ac si dicat (diceret, dixisset)». This expression indicates at the same time an attempt of reformulation, understanding and distance. This one expresses what was not being said but what would have being able to be said. It sometimes goes farther than «quasi dicat» in the mark of distance regarding the text-source because it expresses impossibility: Sic igitur Iob quia secundum partem sensibilem vitam sub adversitate repudiabat, volebat se numquam natum vel conceptum fuisse, et hoc est quod dicit Pereat dies in qua natus sum, ac si diceret ‘numquam natus fuissem!’ […]23. Sic igitur ostensa multipliciter immensitate divinae potentiae et profunditate divinae sapientiae, concludit propositum, quod scilicet suae intentionis non est cum Deo contendere, et hoc est quod dicit Quantus ergo ego sum, idest quam potens, quam sapiens, qui respondeam ei, scilicet Deo interroganti potentissimo et sapientissimo, et loquar verbis meis cum eo, examinando facta eius et dicendo «cur ita facis?», ac si diceret: non sufficiens sum ut contendam cum Deo; contentio enim in respondendo et obiciendo consistit24.

Concerning the presence of «ac si dicat» in the work of Thomas Aquinas, the case is rather similar to that of «quasi dicat»: enough little presence in the systematic works and in the disputations (Summa theologiae 23 In Iob, cap. 3:3, p. 21. (B. MULLADAY translation: «So therefore because Job repudiated life in adversity from the point of view of the senses, he wished that he had never been born or conceived. He expresses this saying, Let the day perish on which I was born, saying in effect, ‘Would that I had never been born!’»). 24 In Iob, cap. 9:14, p. 62. (B. MULLADAY translation: «Therefore, after he has shown in many ways the immensity of the divine power and the depth of the divine wisdom, he draws the conclusion to the proposition, namely that his intention is not to argue with God. He explains this when he says, Am I great enough, how powerful and how wise, to answer him, i.e. to answer the most powerful and most wise God when he interrogates me and to address him in my own words. This means by examining his deeds and saying, “Why do you do this?” (v. 12) as if to say: I am not sufficient to argue with God, for argument consists in answering and making objections»).

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63 times from 1573434 word25, questions −disputatae and quodlibetales− 45 times26) and more presence in commentaries as well as in Aristotleʼs than biblical (144 times from 1141084 words in Aristotle’s commentaries27, 79 times in commentaries of the Old Testament28, and 25 times from 320019 words in Super Ioannem29).

1.4. «(videtur/ potest) referri ad» Let us mention a last case: «referri ad». This is another expression which is bound to the interpretation of texts. It appears twice in the Quaestiones quodlibetales, 9 times30 in the Quaestiones disputatae, 18 times31 in the Summa theologiae, merely 12 times in the Aristotle’s Commentaries32. On the other hand, it appears 19 times in Expositio super Iob ad litteram and 28 times in Super Psalmos33. The interest of this expression for our investigation is double: at first, because it underlines the probable, not sure, characteristic, of an interpretation, thanks to the fact that it is often preceded by a «videtur» or by a «potest»; second, because it is often used to introduce a plurality of readings of a text (situation about which we shall speak farther). Let us quote some examples: […], et ideo quasi admirative quaerit et sic repente praecipitas me?, quasi dicat: hoc inconveniens videtur si quem prius fecisti sine causa nunc destruas. Vel quod dixit fecerunt me potest referri ad constitutionem substantiae, quod autem dixit et plasmaverunt me totum in circuitu potest referri ad ea quae substantiae adveniunt, sive sint bona animae sive corporis sive exterioris fortunae34. 25

BUSA, «Index Thomisticus», http://www.corpusthomisticum.org Ibid. 27 Ibid. 28 Ibid. 29 Ibid. 30 Ibid. 31 Ibid. 32 Ibid. 33 Ibid. 34 In Iob, cap. 10:8, p. 70. (B. MULLADAY translation: «[…] and so he asks almost in surprise, and so will you cast me down unexpectedly? He seems to say: It seems 26

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Subiungit aliam utilitatem nubium cum dicit et nubes spargunt lumen suum, quod potest referri vel ad lumen coruscationum, secundum id quod supra in praecedenti capitulo praedixerat «si voluerit extendere nubes et fulgurare lumine suo»; vel magis potest referri ad lumen quod resplendet in aere ex radiis solis reverberatis ad nubes et quodammodo contemperatis per ipsas: unde claritas solis apparet in aere ante ortum solis et etiam post occasum propter reverberationem radiorum solis ad nubes quae sunt in loco sublimiori, ad quas citius accedunt radii solares et tardius eas deserunt35.

In the second case, besides the opened presentation of the interpretation indicated by the «potest», Thomas Aquinas offers us two readings of the same verse. He indicates a preference among these two readings, but he does not exclude the other one36. This case leads us to the second characteristic of Friar Thomas’s commentaries which shows us that the interpretation and the explanation of the sacred text do not proceed by necessity but by probable reasons; does not claim to offer an unambiguous, but opened, even explicitly multiple, reading.

2. «potest dupliciter hoc verbum intelligi» By different expressions, Thomas Aquinas introduces a plurality of interpretations (generally two). In Expositio super Iob ad litteram this unfitting for you now to destroy without cause someone you earlier made. Or the words, made me, can refer to the constitution of the substance and the words, They fashioned me wholly round about, can refer to those things which modify the substance, whether they are the goods of the soul or of the body or of exterior chance»). 35 In Iob, cap. 37:11, p. 195. (B. MULLADAY translation: «He adds another useful feature of the clouds when he says, and the clouds pour out their light, which can refer either to the light of lightning flashing according to what he already said in the preceding chapter, “If he wills to extend the clouds or to make flash with his light” (36:29). Or this can more refer to the light which shines in the air from the suns rays reflected off the clouds and mixed with them in some way. So the brightness of the sun appears in the air before the rising of the sun and also after its setting because of the reflection of the rays of the sun from the clouds which are in a higher place, which the solar rays reach more quickly and leave more slowly»). 36 About the multiple readings, see M. NARVÁEZ, Thomas d’Aquin lecteur. Vers une nouvelle approche de la pratique herméneutique au Moyen Âge, Institut Supérieur de Philosophie – Peeters, Louvain 2012, pp. 145-171 (Philosophes Médiévaux, 57).

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structure is not isolated, it is constant. This dimension of the commentary translates concretely the «per probabiles rationes». As soon as Thomas Aquinas proposes two interpretations of a passage (often without determining which of these interpretations to retain), he places his interpretation in this degree of certainty/uncertainty which we can call of «pertinence». A one reading is not pertinent, but many readings are more, or less, or equally pertinent. Notandum autem quod licet Iob filiis indulgeret ut convivia agerent, tamen ipse suam gravitatem conservans eorum conviviis se non immiscebat: unde dicitur quod mittebat ad eos, non quod ipse ad eos iret. Modus autem sanctificationis quo per internuntium sanctificabat potest intelligi dupliciter: vel quia salubribus monitis eos instrui faciebat ut si quid in conviviis deliquerant emendarent, vel etiam expiationis aliquem ritum habebant quo huiusmodi delicta expiabantur, sicut et sacrificia etiam ante Legem data fuerunt, et primitiarum et decimarum oblatio37. 37

In Iob, cap. 1:5, pp. 6-7. (B. MULLADAY translation: «One should note, however, that although Job indulged his sons in allowing them to have feasts, yet he did not participate himself in their banquets because he preserved his maturity. So the text says, He would send for them, but not that he would go himself. The manner of this purification by which he sanctified them through an intermediary can be understood in two ways: he either had them instructed with beneficial warning so that if they had done anything wrong at the banquets, they would correct it, or else that they should perform some rite of expiation in which they could satisfy for these kinds of faults as there were sacrifices and the oblation of first fruits and tithes even before the Law was given»). Other examples: «Quod autem addit simul potest ad duo referri, […]», In Iob, cap. 40:8, p. 215; «Subdit autem et ad locum alium non ferentur, quod potest ad duas intentiones referri […]», In Iob, cap. 41:14, p. 225; «Vel potest hoc ad aliam intentionem referri […]», In Iob, cap. 13:19, p. 87; «[…] et benedixerint Deo in cordibus suis. Quod quidem dupliciter intelligi potest», In Iob, cap. 1:5, p. 7; «[…] nunde subdit maledicant ei qui maledic*nt diei, qui parati sunt suscitare Leviathan. Quod quidem secundum litteram dupliciter potest exponi: […]», In Iob, cap. 3:8, pp. 22-23; «[…] sed hoc excludit dicens ad terram tenebrosam, ad quam scilicet vadam post mortem. Et potest hoc exponi dupliciter: […]», In Iob, cap. 10:21, p. 73; «Quod autem subdit qui excelsos iudicat potest dupliciter adiungi: […]», In Iob, cap. 21:22, p. 125; «[…] et quantum ad hoc subdit et nudos spoliasti vestibus, quod potest intelligi dupliciter:[…]», In Iob, cap. 22:6, p. 128; «[…] devratur, quasi absorptus a magnitudine materiae de qua loquitur, secundum illud Prov. XXV27 “Qui perscrutator est maiestatis opprimetur a gloria”. Vel potest aliter intelligi ut sit sensus: […]», In Iob, cap. 37:20, p. 197; «[…] unde subdit nec intuitus est, scilicet eam, oculus vulturis, qui tamen valde a remotis solet videre; vel potest aliter exponi: […]», In Iob, cap. 4:6, p. 152.

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B. Truth The elements which we have just mentioned are sufficient to establish, that in the concrete understanding and explanation of the sacred text, Thomas Aquinas proceeds «per probabiles rationes», that is by readings and explanations which try to be «pertinent» and which do not claim to be unequivocal, or unique. But then, why does the reading of the commentaries of Thomas Aquinas often give the opposite feeling (that of a text with a rigour in the structure and in the logical developments such as it really leaves no place, to doubt, or to the multiplicity of readings)? The tension towards the truth, indicated by the term «probabiles», requires from Thomas Aquinas to introduce a rather complex set of formal structures (logical), of arguments and axioms, considered true, which aim at giving to the sacred text its true meaning. That, in the case of the biblical text, is a step toward the truth as such. All this is well known since the works of Chenu, but what is less known is the articulation of this «machinery» made up of logic and truth with the hermeneutical flexibility which we have just shown. Before giving an example concerning the articulation of these two dimensions of the Thomas Aquinas’ commentary, I am going to state three «véritative» tools (tools of truth)38 which intervene in the commentary. I call tool «véritative (tool of truth)» any element which beforehand is considered either true (axioms, for example), or a means to reach the truth (logical structures) or as an element possessing a certain truth (biblical quotations). These tools have in common the capacity to place the commentary at the level of the truth and to try by its intervention to return the text commented in its truth.

1. Logical structures The presence of these structures of classification, of hierarchical organization, of definition, is everywhere. From the beginning, it is this kind of structures which guide the progression of the commentary. Sometimes these logical tools are disappointing, other times they give 38

For this notion, see NARVÁEZ, Thomas d’Aquin lecteur, pp. 249-283.

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excellent results. The following quotation is a good example; it concerns the number of children, boys and girls, of Job: Describitur igitur primo eius prosperitas quantum ad fecunditatem prolis, cum dicitur Natique sunt ei septem filii et tres filiae. Convenienter numerosior multitudo marium quam feminarum ponitur quia parentes magis affectare solent filios quam filias, tum quia id quod perfectius est desiderabilius est, mares autem comparantur ad feminas sicut perfectum ad imperfectum, tum quia in auxilium rerum gerendarum solent esse parentes magis nati quam natae39.

As we may notice at first that Friar Thomas proposes three possible interpretations without giving preference to one of them. Nevertheless, this time the hermeneutical flexibility depends on a single principle of categorization rather unfortunate. Indeed, we wonder if within the framework of a literal interpretation, it was necessary to find an explanation to the difference in number of boys and girls; and then if it was pertinent to introduce a logical qualitative graduation to explain this quantitative difference. The three explanations proposed by Thomas Aquinas (by affection, by perfection, by utility) introduce a graduation. This reading is neither in Saint Gregory the Great’s Moralia in Iob40 (who proposes no explanation 39

In Iob, cap. 1:2, p. 5. (B. MULLADAY translation: «Therefore, Job’s prosperity is first described in terms of the fertility of his children when the text says, There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. The number of the men is fittingly greater than the number of women because parents usually have more affection for sons than for daughters. This is both because what is more perfect is more desirable (men are compared to women as perfect to imperfect) and because those born males are usually of more help in managing business than those born females»). 40 «Natique sunt ei septem filii et tres filiae. Saepe ad auaritiam cor parentis illicit fecunditas prolis. Eo enim ad ambitum congregandae hereditatis accenditur, quo multis heredibus fecundatur. Vt ergo beati Iob quam sancta mens fuerit, ostendatur et iustus dicitur et multae prolis pater fuisse perhibetur. Qui in libri sui exordio deuotus sacrificiis offerendis asseritur, promptus autem largitatibus etiam post a semetipso memoratur. Pensemus ergo quanta fortitudine praeditus exstitit, quem ad hereditatis tenaciam nec tot haeredum affectdus inclinauit.» Gregory the Great, Moralia in Iob libri I-X, Ed.by M. ADRIAEN, Brepols, Turnhout, 1979 (Corpus christianorum series Latina, 143).

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about this difference), nor in Albert the Great’s Commentary (probably written later than Friar Thomas’s commentary)41, who proposes a moral explanation, or allegorical, not literal, not hierarchical classification42. The following quotation is worth considering: Quomodo autem sit via hominis abscondita exponit subdens et circumdedit eum Deus tenebris, quod quidem multipliciter manifestum est: quantum ad ea quae sunt ante et post, […]; et quantum ad ea quae sunt iuxta, scilicet ad homines, […]; et quantum ad ea quae sunt supra […], scilicet Deus, «quem nullus hominum vidit sed nec videre potest», et in Psalmo dicitur quod «posuit tenebras latibulum suum» […]; et quantum ad ea quae sunt infra, […]. Dicitur autem Deus hominem tenebris circumdedisse, quia Deus ei talem intellectum tribuit quod praedicta cognoscere non possit43.

Here the logical will of Thomas Aquinas to name all the dimensions, which surround mankind of darkness, gives at the same time, a sober text and a density of meaning which could be qualified, allow me the anachronism, of existentialist. In this second case, we see how the word 41 Concerning the chronology, see J.-P. TORREL Initiation à Saint Thomas d’Aquin. Sa personne et son œuvre, Éditions universitaires de Fribourg and Cerf, Fribourg 2002, pp. 175-178; D. CHARDONNENS, L’homme sous le regard de la providence. Providence de Dieu et condition humaine selon l’Exposition littérale sur le Livre de Job de Thomas d’Aquin, Librairie philosophique Vrin, Paris 1997, pp. 46-49. 42 «septem filii, septenarium ad sanctitatem pertinet propter septem dona Sancti Spiritus, Is XI, (2,3), sexus autem ad perfectionem. et tres filiae, ternarius ad virtutem pertinet.propter fidem, spem et caritatem; sexus ad fecunditatem, Prv XXXI, (28): Surrexerunt filii eius et beatissimam praedicaverunt. Sap VII, (12): Omnium bonorum mater est». Albert the Great, Comentarii in Iob, Ed. by Melchior WEISS, Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 1904, I, 2, pp. 20-21. 43 In Iob, cap. 3:23, p. 25. (B. MULLADAY translation: «He explains how the way of man is hidden on the earth saying, And God has hedged him in with darkness. This is evident in many ways. First, as to those things which happened in the past or will happen in the future […] Second, as to what is near him, namely men. […] As to those things above a man, the last chapter of 1 Timothy says, “He (God) lives in inaccessible light, whom no man sees or is able to see” (1 Tim. 6:16) and in the Psalms, “He makes the darkness his hiding place.” (17:12) Finally as to those things which are below him, […]. God is said to have hedged a man in with darkness because God bestows the kind of intellect on him which not able to understand these things»).

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«circumdedit» displays all its dimensions and gives a meaning much more radical, complete, to these «tenebris» of the human condition. An unfortunate case, second fortunate; but in both cases, it appears that Thomas Aquinas intend to give a coherence to the text thanks to the logical structures which organize, classify, rank into a hierarchy, the contents of a text.

2. Axioms To the strong coherence given to the commentary by the logical structures. It is necessary to add the consistency which Thomas Aquinas gives to his commentary thanks to axioms which he introduces everywhere. These apodictic constructions are considered true by our commentator (at least it is that of the meaning of this kind of statements), and by this quality, the axioms raise the text at the level of truth. The commentary is not (it is not only) the explanation of a story, it is question of truth. These apodictic statements are sometimes introduced by expressions like «sciendum est quod…» or «considerandum est quod…»: Sciendum est autem quod divina providentia tali ordine res gubernat quod inferiora per superiora dispensat; […]44. Sed sciendum est quod Deus malos punit et per bonos angelos et per malos, sed bonis numquam adversitatem inducit nisi per malos: […]45. Sciendum est autem quod sicut materia comparatur ad formam ut potentia ad actum, ita voluntas ad bonum; […]46. Considerandum est autem quod amicorum compassio consolativa est, vel quia adversitas quasi onus quoddam levius fertur quando a pluribus portatur, vel magis quia omnis tristitia ex admixtione 44

In Iob, cap. 1:6, p. 7. (B. MULLADAY translation: «But one should know that divine providence governs things with such an order that lower things are ordered through higher things»). 45 In Iob, cap. 1:12, p. 11. (B. MULLADAY translation: «Note that God punishes wicked men through both the good and the wicked angels, but he never sends adversity on good men except through wicked angels»). 46 In Iob, cap. 4:18, p. 32. (B. MULLADAY translation: «Note that as matter is related to form, as potency is to act so the will is to the good»).

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delectationis alleviatur: delectabilissimum autem est experimentum sumere de amicitia alicuius, quod maxime sumitur ex compassione in adversis, et ideo consolationem affert47. […] et Eliphaz hic vel vere vel ficte loquitur dicens Porro ad me dictum est verbum absconditum. Considerandum est autem quod aliqua veritas, quamvis propter sui altitudinem sit homini abscondita, revelatur tamen quibusdam manifeste, quibusdam vero occulte; ad effugiendam igitur notam iactantiae hanc veritatem abscondite dicit sibi esse revelatam, […]48.

The sacred text considered as source of the truth justifies the introduction of «véritative (of truth)» tools, and these tools aim, if we may say so, at extracting the truth from the text, or simply, at leading the biblical text to its truth. It is thus a mutual justification.

3. Biblical quotations Naturally, among tools «of truth», we have to mention biblical references (of course, I speak here about those that come from other books rather than from Jobʼs) which appear constantly in his commentary, even though, it is known, in a more sober way than in Moralia in Iob or Albert the Great’s commentary. In this concern, we will not analyze in deep the role of these quotations. However, I would like to highlight the following ideas: first, that they make constantly part of the narrative weave of friar Thomas’s commentary; second, that the quotations especially come from passages of the Old Testament, which is coherent with his objective to write a literal commentary; and third, that these references serve to illustrate, to 47

In Iob, cap. 2:13, p. 19. (B. MULLADAY translation: «Consider that the compassion of friends is a consolation, either because adversity like a burden in more lightly born when it is carried by many, or even more because all sorrow is alleviated when mixed with pleasure. To have the experience of someone’s friendship is very pleasurable, which especially derives from their compassion in adversity and so offers consolation»). 48 In Iob, cap. 4:12, p. 29. (B. MULLADAY translation: «[…], Eliphaz speaks either truly or falsely saying, Now a word was spoken to me in a hidden way. Consider that some truth, although hidden from men because of its exalted character, is still revealed to some clearly and revealed to others in a hidden way. To avoid the charge of boasting, he says that this truth was revealed to him in a hidden way, […]»).

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specify or to confirm the meaning of an assertion or, more rarely, to prove it. (In the prologue, for example, the biblical quotations will be used to prove the real existence of Job). The quotation concerning the different dimensions of the human ignorance we’ve just quoted was incomplete; where as, the full extract states: Quomodo autem sit via hominis abscondita exponit subdens et circumdedit eum Deus tenebris, quod quidem multipliciter manifestum est: quantum ad ea quae sunt ante et post, secundum illud Eccl. VIII6 «Multa hominis afflictio quia ignorat praeterita et ventura nullo scire potest nuntio»; et quantum ad ea quae sunt iuxta, scilicet ad homines, secundum illud Cor. II «Quis scit quae sunt hominis nisi spiritus hominis qui in ipso est?»; et quantum ad ea quae sunt supra, secundum illud Tim. ult. «Lucem habitat inaccessibilem», scilicet Deus, «quem nullus hominum vidit sed nec videre potest», et in Psalmo dicitur quod «posuit tenebras latibulum suum»; et quantum ad ea quae sunt infra, dicitur enim Eccl. I8 «Cunctae res difficiles, non potest hom*o eas explicare sermone». Dicitur autem Deus hominem tenebris circumdedisse, quia Deus ei talem intellectum tribuit quod praedicta cognoscere non possit49.

The biblical quotations in this passage specify and illustrate at the same time Thomas Aquinas explanation and operate as narrative weave of the commentary. But, o ne should take into account that they depend on, and serve, the logical structure space-temps introduced by Friar Thomas. Concerning the «véritative (of truth)» elements, we have to mention a type of reference to the biblical text very present in the commentary. 49 In Iob, cap. 3:23, p. 25. (B. MULLADAY translation: «He explains how the way of man is hidden on the earth saying, And God has hedged him in with darkness. This is evident in many ways. First, as to those things which happened in the past or will happen in the future Qoheleth says, “Many are the afflictions of man because he is ignorant of the past and the future or who can tell him how it will be?” (8:6) Second, as to what is near him, namely men. As 1 Cor. says, “For who knows a man’s thoughts but the spirit of the man which is in him.” (2:11) As to those things above a man, the last chapter of 1 Timothy says, “He (God) lives in inaccessible light, whom no man sees or is able to see,” (1 Tim. 6:16) and in the Psalms, “He makes the darkness his hiding place.” (17:12) Finally as to those things which are below him, Qoheleth says, “All things are difficult, a man cannot explain them with speech.” (1:8) God is said to have hedged a man in with darkness because God bestows the kind of intellect on him which not able to understand these things»).

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Indeed, Thomas Aquinas often evokes «habits» of the biblical text to explain the Book of Job. These biblical constants work as rules on which Thomas Aquinas leans to clarify or direct his comprehension of the text. Today these would be considered as examples of stylistic critic. Notably, as these examples show: Sic igitur intelligendum est Iob suo diei maledixisse quia eum malum esse denuntiavit, non secundum suam naturam qua a Deo creatus est, sed secundum illam Scripturae consuetudinem qua tempus dicitur bonum vel malum secundum ea quae in tempore aguntur, secundum illud Apostoli Eph. V16 «Redimentes tempus quoniam dies mali sunt»; maledixit igitur Iob diei suo inquantum mala sibi in ipso die accidisse commemorat50. Quia enim aspectus luminis delectabilis est, secundum illud Eccl. XI7 «Dulce lumen, et delectabile est oculis videre solem», consuetum est in Scripturis ut per tenebras tristitia significetur, secundum illud Eccl.V16 «Comedit in tenebris et in curis multis et in aerumna atque tristitia»51. hom*o enim post corruptionem humanae naturae perseverare non potest sine gratia Dei, unde et in sacra Scriptura consuetum est dici quod Deus aliquem indurat vel excaecat ex hoc quod gratiam non largitur per quam emolliatur et videat; secundum ergo hunc modum et hic Iob loquitur dicens Quare posuisti me contrarium tibi? […]52.

In Iob, cap. 3:1, p. 20. (B. MULLADAY translation: «So, one should understand that Job cursed his day, because he denounced it as evil, not only because of its nature, which was created by God, but according to the common usage of Holy Scripture where time is called good or evil because of what happens in that time. The Apostle Paul speaks in this way when he says, “[…] making the most of the time, because the days are evil.” (Eph. 5:16) So Job cursed his day in remembering the evils which had happened to him on that day»). 51 In Iob, cap. 3:4, p. 21. (B. MULLADAY translation: «For the sight of the light is delightful, as Qoheleth says, “Light is pleasing and it is delightful for the eyes to see the sum.” (11:7) It is customary in Holy Scripture to represent sorrow by darkness, as one sees in Qoheleth, “He spent all his days in darkness and grief, in much vexation and sickness and resentment.” (5:16)»). 52 In Iob, cap. 7:20, p. 51. (B. MULLADAY translation: «For man cannot persevere after the corruption of human nature without the grace of God, and so it is customary in Sacred Scripture to say that God hardens someone or blinds someone in the sense that he does not bestow the grace on him by which he may be softened and see. Job speaks here in this way saying, Why do you pit me against you?»).

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I mention these cases, because they have an intermediate situation between the singular inferences coming from the commented text and the axioms, coming from outside. Here, we have rules which go beyond the singular case, but which are less binding than the presuppositions of apodictic type, and, besides, which result, or claim to result, from a familiarity of the biblical text. In this intermediate position, and that also have a «véritative (of truth)» impact are also numerous statements which evoke, for example, a frequent behavior in and by the human being or a frequent phenomenon in the nature. These statements are often introduced by the verb «solent…» Considerandum autem est quod, sicut Hieronymus dicit in Prologo, «a verbis Iob in quibus ait ‘Pereat dies in qua natus sum’ usque ad eum locum ubi ante finem voluminis scriptum est ‘Idcirco ipse me reprehendo’, hexametri versus sunt, dactylo spondeoque currentes»; et sic patet quod liber iste exhinc per modum poematis conscriptus est, unde per totum hunc librum figuris et coloribus utitur quibus poetae uti consueverunt. Solent autem poetae, ut vehementius moveant, ad eandem sententiam diversa inducere, unde et hic Iob ad maledicendum diei suae secundum modum quem dicimus ea inducit quibus aliquis dies solet esse odiosus53.

This habit that Thomas Aquinas attributes to the poets will have here a considerable role, because it will set the tone in the understanding of the Book of Job, which will be considered as having a poetic style. Still let us quote some examples: Accepta potestate Satan ad eius executionem procedit, unde dicitur Egressus igitur Satan a facie Domini percussit Iob, percussione quidem turpi et abominabili, unde dicitur ulcere, incurabili et 53

In Iob, cap. 3:4, p. 21. (B. MULLADAY translation: «Consider that, as Jerome says in his Prologue, «from the words in which Job says, ‘Let the day perish on which I was born,’(1:3) to the place where it is written near the end of the book, ‘For that reason, I repent,’ (42:6), the verses are hexameters in dactyl and spondee.» Therefore it is clear after this that this book was written in poetic style. So he uses the figures and images which poets customarily use through this whole book. Since poets want to touch others deeply, they customarily use several different images to express the same idea. So here too Job uses things which often make a day hateful, to curse his own day in the manner of which we are speaking»).

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doloroso, unde dicitur pessimo, et universali, unde dicitur a planta pedis usque ad verticem eius. Solent autem aegrotantium afflictiones remediis exterius adhibitis et deliciis alleviari, sed Iob sic alleviatus non fuit, […]54. Deinde ostendit causam doloris ex his quae perpeti timebat, dicens et terrores Dei militant contra me: solent enim afflicti ex spe melioris status consolari, sed cum post afflictionem aliquis iterum similia vel maiora timet, nulla videtur esse consolatio residua55.

Having expressed all these «véritative (of truth)» elements, I wonder whether they neutralize the «probabiles», dimension of the commentary (the level of the truth which we could call of «pertinence») and give to the interpretation the strength of an argument with logical necessity. C. Dialogical intention On one hand, apodictic statements, on the other hand, multiple attempts in the understanding of a biblical verse. How are these two aspects articulated in the Thomas Aquinas’ commentary? Does the strength of «véritative (of truth)» elements suppress the flexibility of «per probabiles rationes»? We are going to try to sketch an answer by the study of what I call the «dialogical intention»; that is, the intention of the words or actions of the characters who take part in a dialogue. Let us take two dialogues: that between God and the devil, and that between Job and his friends Eliphaz Themanite, Baldath Suites and Sophar Naamathites. In both groups of interlocutors there is a link between the intention of the speakers and the 54 In Iob, cap. 2:7, p. 17. (B. MULLADAY translation: «When Satan had received the power, he proceeds to execute it. So the text continues, So Satan went forth from the face of the Lord and afflicted Job, with what was truly an abominable and shameful blow. So the text says, with sores, which were incurable and painful, i.e. loathsome, entirely from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. The afflictions of the sick are customarily alleviated by cures applied externally which are pleasant. But Job was not alleviated in such a way […]»). 55 In Iob, cap. 6:4, p. 41. (B. MULLADAY translation: «Then he shows the cause of the pain from what he was afraid he would suffer saying, God’s terror stands arrayed against me. For the afflicted are usually consoled by the hope of a better state, but when after one affliction comes, one fears similar or greater afflictions again, he seems to have no consolation left»).

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understanding of their words and their acts, but in each of these two groups the intention is grasped in a different way and the link is also different. Let us begin with the dialogue between God and the devil. So what intention or what meaning is transmited by the words of the devil set, what is the God’s intention? In reality everything is beforehand defined here. Thomas Aquinas introduces in an axiomatic way the intention of the two interlocutors: […] quia ea ipsa facta quae per daemones procurantur interdum ex divina voluntate proveniunt, dum per eos vel puniuntur mali vel exercentur boni; sed daemonum intentio semper mala est et a Deo aliena, et ideo a Satan quaeritur unde venis?, quia eius intentio, a qua procedit tota ipsius actio, a Deo est aliena56.

And, concerning God: Descripta igitur huius viri et persona et virtute, eius prosperitas consequenter ostenditur, ut ex praecedenti prosperitate gravior sequens iudicetur adversitas, simul etiam ad ostendendum quod ex prima Dei intentione iustis semper bona tribuuntur non solum spiritualia sed etiam temporalia; sed quod aliquando iusti adversitatibus premantur accidit propter aliquam specialem causam: unde et a principio hom*o sic institutus fuit ut nullis subiaceret perturbationibus si in innocentia permansisset57.

The devil is a paradigmatic character of evil and as such his intention is postulated in an a priori way, and it is only from this perverse intention 56

In Iob, cap. 1:6, p. 9. (B. MULLADAY translation: «This is because those deeds themselves which are administered by the demons sometimes arise from divine will when he punishes the wicked and tries the good through them. But the intention of the demons is always evil and hostile to God and so Satan is asked, Where do you come from? because his intention from which the totality of his act proceeds is hostile to God’s»). In reality, Thomas Aquinas proposes at first a whole theoretical paradigm on the intention of the good and bad angels; it is only after this theoretical explanation, which in an a priori way postulates their intentions, that the words of the Book of Job are explained. 57 In Iob, cap. 1:1, p. 5. (B. MULLADAY translation: «When both the person and the virtue of this man have been described then his prosperity is shown so that the adversity which follows may be judged to be more grave because of the prosperity which precedes it. At the same time, this also demonstrates that not only spiritual goods but also temporal goods are given to the just from God’s first intention. But the fact just are sometimes afflicted with adversities happens for some special reason. Hence from the beginning, man was so established that he would not have been subject to any disturbances if he had remained in innocence»).

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of the devil that all his interventions will be understood in the commentary of the Book of Job. Per hoc igitur quod Dominus dicit ad Satan unde venis? Intentionem et acta diaboli Deus examinat; per hoc autem quod Satan respondet Circuivi terram et perambulavi eam, quasi suorum actuum Deo rationem reddit, ut ex utroque ostendatur omnia quae per Satan fiunt divinae providentiae subiecta esse58. Et ideo Dominus ad Satan dicit Numquid considerasti servum meum Iob etc., quasi dicat: terram quidem circuis et perambulas, sed servum meum Iob solum considerare potes et eius virtutem mirari59.

When the devil answers «numquid frustra Iob timet Deum?» to the words of God «numquid considerasti servum meum Iob etc.», Thomas Aquinas proceeds in a particular way: at first he evokes an usual way to act of perverse human beings; then, he reminds the paradigmatic perversion of Satan, what allows him to apply this human behavior to the prince of evil; and finally he gives a slanderous meaning to the devil’s words and interpret them accordingly: Solet autem perversorum hominum, quorum princeps est Satan et eorum hic personam gerit, talis esse consuetudo ut, sanctorum vitam quia reprehendere non possunt, non ex recta intentione eos agere calumnientur, secundum illud Eccli. XI33 «Bona in mala convertens insidiatur et in electis imponet maculam». Et hoc apparet ex hoc quod subditur Cui respondens Satan ait: numquid frustra Iob timet Deum, quasi dicat: negare non possum quin bona faciat, sed hoc non agit ex recta intentione propter tuum amorem et honestatis, sed propter temporalia quae a te consecutus est60. 58

In Iob, cap. 1:6, p. 9. (B. MULLADAY translation: «By the fact that the Lord says to Satan, Where have you come from?, God examines the devil’s intention and actions. By the fact that Satan answers, I have prowled about the earth and I have run through it, as though giving an account of his actions to God, both statements serve the purpose of showing that everything which Satan does is subject to divine providence»). 59 In Iob, cap. 1:8, p. 10. (B. MULLADAY translation: «Therefore the Lord says to Satan, Have you considered my servant Job, etc., as if to say: You prowl about and run through the earth, but you can consider by servant Job and wonder at his virtue»). 60 In Iob, cap. 1:9, p. 10. (B. MULLADAY translation: «Perverse men, whose prince is Satan who here acts in their place, usually accuse holy men unjustly of not acting for a right intention because they cannot find fault with the life of the saints. Scripture

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As we can see in the quoted text, the moral intention of the devil, archetypal perverse, will be the starting point and criterion to grasp the hermeneutic intention, that is, to understand the meaning of its words. The axiomatic statement thus determines the rest. Now, let us see the dialogue between Job and his friends. We will quote briefly some replies of Eliphaz, Bladath and Sophar to the words of Job: Postquam Eliphaz arguerat Iob impatientiae occasione accepta ex eo quod dixerat «Antequam comedam suspiro», nunc intendit eum praesumptionis arguere eo quod se dixerat innocentem. Ad ostendendum autem eum non esse innocentem, ex eius adversitate argumentum assumit dicens Recordare, obsecro te, quis umquam innocens periit, aut quando recti deleti sunt ?61 Respondens autem Baldath Suites etc. In superioribus beatus Iob dictis Eliphaz responderat eius sententiam efficaciter et profunde evacuando; sed Baldath Suites in eadem sententia cum Eliphaz concordans profunditatem beati Iob non comprehenderat, et ideo contra responsionem beati Iob loquitur sicut solent homines loqui contra sententias non intellectas. […] et ideo subiungit et spiritus multiplex sermonis oris tui?, reputabat enim, quia Iob multa protulerat quorum ordinem ipse non capiebat, quod essent verba dissuta et quasi hominis sine ratione ex impetu spiritus varia loquentis absque ordine rationis. Et quia, ut dictum est, Baldath intentionem Iob non comprehenderat, eius verba in alia intentione accipiens ad inconveniens deducere conatur62. expresses this saying, “Turning good to evil, he lies in ambush and he will put the blame on the elect.” (Sir. 11:33) This appears in what follows in the text, Then Satan answered the Lord: Does Job fear God in vain? as if to say: I cannot deny that he does good things, but he does not do them for a right intention because of love of you and the good for its own sake. Rather he does them because of the temporal goods which he has attained from you»). 61 In Iob, cap. 4:7, p. 28. (B. MULLADAY translation: «After Eliphaz accused Job of impatience taking his opportunity from what Job had said, “Before I eat, I sigh” (3:24), he intends now to accuse him of presumption from the fact that he said he was innocent. To show him that he is not innocent, he takes his argument from the premise of his adversity saying, Remember, I implore you, who that was innocent has ever perished; or when have the upright been destroyed?»). 62 In Iob, cap. 8:1-2, p. 53. (B. MULLADAY translation: «In the discourse which Job just finished, he had responded to the speech of Eliphaz. He showed Eliphaz was mistaken in a deep and efficacious way. But Bildad of Shuah, who agreed with the same

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Respondens autem Sophar Naamathites dixit: Idcirco cogitationes meae etc. Sophar, audita sententia Iob de spe futurae vitae, acquievisse videtur, unde et post hanc responsionem secundam eius tertio nihil contradixit. Sed tamen adhuc erat aliquid in corde eius quod a priori sententia eum non permittebat omnino recedere: putabat enim quod etsi in futura vita fierent retributiones et punitiones pro meritis, ut a Iob didicerat, nihilominus tamen adhuc ei videbatur quod prosperitates et adversitates huius vitae hominibus dispensarentur a Deo pro merito virtutum vel peccatorum, et ideo quasi in parte convictus et in parte adhuc primam sententiam retinens dicit Idcirco, scilicet propter verba quae dicis de spe futurae vitae, cogitationes meae variae succedunt sibi63.

In contrast to the first group (dialogue between God and the devil), in the group of three interlocutors of Job (we leave aside Eliud), we can notice two major differences: first, the intention of characters is understood or misunderstood, but it is grasped in the word, through the word. The orientation of the interlocutors is not defined in an axiomatic way beforehand. Second, the intention which the interlocutors try to grasp is the one appropriate to the words, that is, the one we grasp when we try to know what the interlocutor wanted to mean. So, the moral intention is not looked

opinion of Eliphaz, did not understand the profundity of blessed Job and so he speaks against the answer of Blessed Job like men usually speak against the opinions they do not understand. […].So he continues, and prolong the high spirit of the speech of your mouth? For he concluded that because Job had explained many things whose order he did not understand that his words were haphazard like a man who has no ability to reason, saying various things without rational order, spurred on by the impulse of his spirit. Also, since, as was said, Bildad did not understand the intention of Job, he takes his words in an entirely different way than intended and tries to deduce that they were not fitting»). 63 In Iob, cap. 20:1, p. 119. (B. MULLADAY translation: «After Sophar heard the opinion of Job about the hope of the future life, he seems to have acquiesced, and so after this second answer he contradicted nothing in the third one. But there was still something in his heart which did not permit him to give ground completely from his former opinion. For he thought that although retributions and punishments are made in the future life 0for merits, as he had learned from Job, nevertheless, it still seemed to him that the prosperity and adversity of this life were given to men by God as sanctions for virtues and sins. So as though convinced in part and yet holding his first opinion in part he says, Therefore, namely, because of the words which you say about the future life, my various thought succeed each other»).

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or postulated at first, even if the speech partly puts a moral question (link between sin and punishment). In the last quoted example, we also notice that Thomas Aquinas grants a certain complexity in the Sophar’s attitude towards words of Job: he was convinced by Job, at least externally, but in his heart he still partially keeps his former point of view. On the other hand, except the case of Eliud (who «magis ad veritatem accedit 64»), the three friends of Job misunderstand, in major or minor measure, the words and the attitude of Job, they even judge him. While Job is largely right and is morally irreproachable. Actually, Job constitutes the link between the first group and the second one; between God and the devil whose (moral) intention is defined in an axiomatic way, and the second group whose (hermeneutical) intention is grasped by and throughout the dialogues. Indeed, the moral intention of Job is the main subject of discussion between God and Satan. The moral intention of Job is the one, in a way, which has the leading role in the plot, if we may say that. At the beginning of the text: is the moral intention of Job irreproachable? Will his intention remain irreproachable? From the beginning of the dialogue between God and Satan, what is supposed to be at stake is the righteousness of moral intention of Job and then the perseverance in this right intention65. From the beginning also the moral orientation of Job’s intention is fixed66, because he had been intended to demonstrate, since the eternity, the truth of its virtue. Disposuerat igitur Dominus ab aeterno Iob temporaliter affligere ad demonstrandam veritatem virtutis eius, ut omnis malignorum excluderetur calumnia, unde ad hoc significandum hic dicitur Tu autem commovisti me adversus eum. Quod autem dicitur ut 64

In Iob, cap. 32:1, p. 171. See In Iob, cap. 2:1-2, p. 16. 66 At the end of the story, Thomas Aquinas finds, nevertheless, an evolution in the attitude of Job, but regarding his moral intention, it always remained right. He only had a weakness in his language at the level of the sensibility: «Et ne videretur Iob, licet convictus, in sua sententia obstinatus permanere, in verba humilitatis prorumpit, unde sequitur Respondens autem Iob Domino dixit: Qui leviter locutus sum respondere quid possum? Ubi considerandum est quod Iob coram Deo et sua conscientia loquens non de falsitate locutionis aut de superba intentione se accusat, quia ex puritate animi fuerat locutus, sed a levitate sermonis: quia scilicet etiam si non ex superbia animi locutus fuerat, verba tamen eius arrogantiam sapere videbantur, unde amici eius occasionem scandali sumpserant; […]». In Iob, cap. 39:33, p. 212. 65

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affligerem illum frustra, intelligendum est quantum ad intentionem Satan non quantum ad intentionem Dei: expetierat enim Satan adversitatem Iob intendens ex hoc eum in impatientiam et blasphemiam deducere, quod consecutus non erat; Deus autem hoc permiserat ad declarandam virtutem eius, quod et factum erat: sic igitur frustra afflictus est Iob quantum ad intentionem Satan sed non quantum ad intentionem Dei67.

This definition of the moral intention of Job will have consequences in the dialogue between him and his friends: all the interlocutors who oppose him, who judge him, will be wrong68, not only from a theoretical point of view, but in some cases, in the commentary, their wrong will be also moral. Still, during their speech the evaluation of their point of view will be more nuanced. Respondens autem Baldath Suites dixit: Potestas et terror etc. Iob in sua responsione duas calumnias quas ei Eliphaz iniecerat in praecedenti sua responsione iam repulit, ostendens se neque pro peccatis punitum neque divinae providentiae negatorem69. 67

In Iob, cap. 2:3, pp. 16-17. (B. MULLADAY translation: «So the Lord had arranged from all eternity to afflict Job in time to prove the truth of his virtue in order to preclude every calumny of the wicked, and so to indicate this the text says, You moved me against him. When the text adds, to afflict him in vain, this must be understood from the point of view of the intention of Satan, not from the point of view of the intention of God. For Satan in intending the adversity of Job had desired from this to lead him into impatience and blasphemy, which did not follow as an effect. God however permitted this to proclaim his virtue openly, which in fact happened. So then Job was afflicted in vain from the point of view of the intention of Satan, but not from the point of view of the intention of God»). 68 «Et sicut ex verbis eius et aliorum amicorum perpendi potest, circa tria tota eorum versabatur intentio: primo enim studebant ad dicendum aliqua magnifica de Deo, extollentes eius sapientiam et potentiam et iustitiam, ut ex hoc eorum causa favorabilior appareret; secundo huiusmodi magnifica de Deo assumpta ad falsa quaedam dogmata applicabant, utpote quod propter iustitiam homines prosperarentur in hoc mundo et propter peccata tribularentur, et quod post hanc vitam non esset aliquid expectandum; tertio ex huiusmodi assertionibus, propter adversitatem quam patiebatur Iob, arguebant eum quasi iniquum et promittebant ei quaedam inania si iniquitatem desereret, utpote quod “defossus securus” dormiret et quod ad vesperam oriretur ei fulgor meridianus, quae Iob quasi irrisiones reputabat: et circa haec tota Iob responsio versatur». In Iob, cap. 12:1, p. 79. 69 In Iob, cap. 25:1, p. 142. (B. MULLADAY translation: «Job in his answer had now refuted the two calumnies which Eliphaz had thrown at him in his previous response.

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From a narrative point of view, these axiomatic definitions of characters (of God, the Devil and Job) introduce a predictable tone to the dialogues and to the progress of the text, but at the same time they are based on a pertinent comprehension, because they contribute to the understanding of the narration in its unity, they open spaces of flexibility concerning many others aspect of the narration, and finally. They contribute to the fundamental purpose that Thomas Aquinas attributes to the book: to make a theoretical reflection on the divine providence.

Conclusion The soundness of Expositio super Iob ad litteram comes from the triple level of unity that Thomas Aquinas looks on and gives to the Book of Job. First comes the narrative unity. Indeed, all the commentary is built on the will to find a unity of an internal coherence in the story. A series of linguistic tools and logical structures are thus meant and used to this aim. Considerandum est autem quod in adversitate enarranda ordo contrarius observatur ordini quo fuerat prosperitas enarrata. Nam in prosperitate enarrata a potioribus ad minora processit incipiens a persona ipsius Iob, et post hoc posuit prolem et deinde animalia, primo oves et deinceps alia: et hoc rationabiliter quia perpetuitas quae in persona salvari non potest quaeritur in prole, ad cuius sustentationem possessionibus indigetur. In adversitate autem proponitur e converso: nam primo narratur amissio substantiae, secundo oppressio prolis, tertio afflictio propriae personae, et hoc ad adversitatis augmentum, nam ille qui maiori adversitate oppressus est minorem non sentit, sed post minorem sentitur maior70. (22:5,12) He had shown that he was punished neither for sin nor for denying divine providence»). 70 In Iob, cap. 1:12, p. 12. (B. MULLADAY translation: «Reflect that the order in which the adversities are about to be explained is just the opposite of the order in which the prosperity was explained. For the prosperity which was explained proceeded from the more important to the less important beginning from the person of Job himself. After him came his offspring and then his animals, first the sheep and then the rest. This was done reasonably because the duration which cannot be preserved in the person is sought in the offspring for whose sustenance one needs possessions. In the adversity however, the opposite order is proposed. First, the loss of possessions is

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But this narrative unity will receive (and will establish at the same time) an impulse of a thematic unity, fundamentally theoretical. Thomas Aquinas will not consider, as thematic unifying principle, the story of a singular individual whose patience is put to the test (see Gregory the Great or Albert the Great). This theme would not be sufficient for a theoretical construction; it would remain so close to the particularity of the narration, because too much bound to a personal history. The looked thematic unity is the one appropriate to the universality of a theoretical level. This second level of unity has a very vast impact on the understanding and explanation of the commented book, and frees it from uncountable anecdotal elements as well. […] Quia, sicut dictum est, intentio huius libri tota ordinatur ad ostendendum qualiter res humanae providentia divina regantur, praemittitur quasi totius disputationis fundamentum quaedam historia in qua cuiusdam viri iusti multiplex afflictio recitatur: hoc enim est quod maxime videtur divinam providentiam a rebus humanis excludere71.

The multiple sorrows of the righteous person are subordinated to the fundamental theoretical subject of the action of the divine providence in relation to human actions. The theoretical dimension which Thomas grants to the Book of Job frees him from questions as the genealogy of Job, but also (this is the most striking example) from defining if Job was a real or a fictional character. Fuerunt autem aliqui quibus visum est quod iste Iob non fuerit aliquid in rerum natura, sed quod fuerit quaedam parabola conficta ut esset quoddam thema ad providentiae disputationem, sicut frequenter homines confingunt aliqua facta ad disputandum de eis. related, then the destruction of the children and third the affliction of his own person. This is to increase the adversity. For one who has been oppressed by a greater adversity does not feel a lesser one. But after a lesser adversity, one feels a greater one»). See also In Iob, cap. 4:20, p. 33. 71 In Iob, cap. 1:1, p. 5. (B. MULLADAY translation: «As was said, because the whole intention of this book is ordered to showing how human affairs are ruled by divine providence, and a kind of history is put first in which the numerous sufferings of a certain just man are related as the foundation of the whole debate. For it is affliction like this which seems most of all to exclude divine providence from human affairs»).

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Et quamvis ad intentionem libri non multum differat utrum sic vel aliter fuerit, refert tamen quantum ad ipsam veritatem72.

Finally, this second level of unity is crowned by the «véritative (of truth)» unity which gives to the book its biggest consistency and returns it to the highest significance: in the exegesis, it is about «truth». To comment the Book of Job means approaching the truth concerning the divine providence. The sacred book is, faith conviction, the source of “the” truth. It thus justifies the introduction of all the «véritative (of truth)» tools which we quoted, but in their turn these tools bring the text back to its truth. The application of this triple level of unity gives to the reader of the Friar Thomas’ work the impression, even the conviction of reading a commentary that is of a great rigour, and consistency; the fact that leads us to the starting point and the following fundamentale question in spite of this consistency, is there in the commentary of Thomas Aquinas a place to the «probabiles rationes» that he attributed to the Book of Job and that we believed we could apply to his commentary? The answer is affirmative, because all these logical structures, these linguistics tools, these axioms, these biblical references which create step by step the triple unity of the text are subordinated to the reformulations which we above quoted and which make depend on some discreet terms like «quasi dicat» the whole commentary; but also, and more fundamentally, because these «véritative (of truth)» structures require to be applied with «tact» (Taktes)73 so that made the commentary really pertinent. Why did Thomas Aquinas introduce a structure of hierarchical classification here and not there? Why this axiom and this biblical reference, 72 In Iob, prol., p. 4. (B. MULLADAY translation: «But there were some who held that Job was not someone who was in the nature of things, but that this was a parable made up to serve as a kind of theme to dispute providence, as men frequently invent cases to serve as a model for debate. Although it does not matter much for the intention of the book whether or not such is the case, still it makes a differnce for the truth itself»). 73 H.-G. GADAMER, «Wer bin Ich und wer bist Du?», in Gesammelte Werke, J.C.B. Mohr Siebeck editors, Tubingen 1993, IX, p. 442; «In the end it is a question of tact whether or not explicating and elucidating the manifold syntax of connotations, to which such allusions indeed also belong, dissolves or undermines the speech’s figure of meaning and the unity of the transpositional movement that represents understanding». H.-G. GADAMER, Gadamer on Celan, ‘Who Am I and Who are You?’ And other Essays, translated and ed. by R. HEINEMANN and B. KRAJEWSKI, States University of New York Press, New York 1997, p. 146.

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instead of this other one there? The introduction of a logical structure, an axiom, the evocation of a human habit, a stylistic characteristic, is a question of «tact», of experience, tradition, genius; it is not a necessary process. It is the prudential dimension which makes a commentary «pertinent» or not. And in the case of Expositio super Iob ad litteram, Thomas Aquinas wrote a medieval masterpiece of exegesis, as A. Dondaine qualified it74, concerning a masterpiece of the biblical Wisdom literature75.

«Dans son analyse saint Thomas est resté fidèle au genre littéraire qu’il avait reconnu dans le livre de Job ; il en a expliqué le sens littéral par des raisons probables. Mais il l’a fait avec une maîtrise et une sûreté qui font de l’Expositio super Iob le sommet de l’exégèse médiévale». A. DONDAINE, «Praefatio», in Thomas Aquinas, Expositio super Iob ad litteram, ed. Leonina, t. XXVI, Rome 1965, p. 30*. 75 Larcher, in his introduction to the Book of Job, qualifies this book as a «chefd’œuvre littéraire du movement de Sagesse». C. LARCHER, «Introduction, Le livre de Job», in Bible de Jérusalem, Éditions du Cerf, Paris 1998, p. 803.

MARGHERITA MARIA ROSSI* MIND-SPACE. TOWARDS AN ‘ENVIRON-MENTAL METHOD’ IN THE EXEGESIS OF THE MIDDLE AGES

Arranging a space is always a sign of the search for a more fitting environment for hosting an upcoming event or person, arranging a space calls for creativeness, flexibility, thinking, innovation and often involves excitement and thrill; arranging a space requires a critical glance, an awareness of inadequacy of some sort, a sense of await, a taste for beauty, and a love for the future. The thinkers of the Middle Ages, who enjoyed all these qualities, could be seen as the masters in space arranging, to the extent that an image portraying the cultural and intellectual attitude of the Middle Ages could be that of a building site. The Middle Ages’s thinkers were able to see –in the apparent chaos of a building site, whether architectural or mental– not the uneasiness of conditions, but the ferment of the birth of something new and the shape of a still invisible blueprint. Treasuring the challenge of such an arrangement of architectural and theoretical space, the present essay attempts at moulding a method to approach and understand the medieval theological production (especially the exegetical works); at the same time, the essay suggests the existence of a parallel between theological genres and mental faculties, where the genre is regarded as the way to shorten distance –in the mind-space of the addressee– between their capacitas divinorum and the Word of God.

1. By way of introduction: a bio-bibliographic viewpoint The research on the divisio textus When, upon suggestion of a Dominican Professor of Moral Theology at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome, Father *

Professor of Thomistic Theology in the Faculty of Theology of the Pontifical University St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome, Largo Angelicum 1, 00184 Rome, email: [emailprotected]

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Dalmazio Mongillo, O.P., I began studying the exegetical production of St. Thomas (in the years 1987-88), I approached specifically the commentary Super Epistolas Sancti Pauli Lectura. Ad Romanos, fascinated by the commentary itself and the few essays –though milestones– concerning the biblical character of St. Thomas. Such essays addressed mainly two aspects of the Middle Ages’ exegesis: the literal sense of the biblical text1, and the presence of dialectics in exegesis2; these presuppositions, often intertwined (since the emphasis on the littera could be explained with the search for a argumentative use of the Bible), were generally ascribed to the widely spread theological search for renewal –the Scholastic movement– which aimed at formalizing theology as a system capable of integrating the previous patrimony of gnoseology, ontology and anthropology within a Christian frame. The wide literary production on the exegetical features of the Middle Ages masters’ production in general, stemming from the survey on literality and dialectics within the hermeneutical process, addressed both the exegetical tools of those masters (in order to grasp their attitude to literality), and the importance of legere in their dialectic activity. The most remarkable contribution of such literary production was highlighting the possible content and procedure-links between the biblical and the systematic dimension of the theological enterprise of the Middle Ages, that is the relationship between the commentaries and the other more celebrated Scholastic genres. A striking textual element which was not given enough attention –despite its specific nature in medieval exegesis (in terms of frequency and relevance)– was, in my opinion, the divisio textus, namely that division of the text found at the very beginning of any commentary as well as of 1

The classical studies concerning the topic are and remain the following: C. SPICQ, Esquisse d’une histoire de l’exégèse latine au Moyen Âge, Vrin, Paris 1944; B. SMALLEY, Lo studio della Bibbia nel medioevo, Il Mulino, Bologna 1972, where the analysis on the literal sense was extended to non-theological works. 2 The classical studies concerning the topic are and remain the following: H. DE LUBAC, Esegesi medievale: i quattro sensi della Scrittura (2 vols.), Edizioni Paoline, Roma 1972; M.-D. CHENU, La teologia come scienza nel XIII secolo, Jaca Book, Milano 1985 (Di fronte e attraverso, 148). More recently, and attentive to the overall cultural milieu, the research of G. DAHAN, Les intellectuels chrétiens et les juifs au moyen âge, Cerf, Paris 1990; ID., L’Exégèse chrétienne de la Bible en occident médiéval XIIe-XIVe siècles, Cerf, Paris 1999.

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any single section of it, which the medieval masters proposed as a way for anticipating the content of a given biblical text and for ordering the different elements of the commentary itself3. Such divisio textus, though not exclusive of the genre of a commentary (since it can be found in a more concise way also in the prologues of the systematic works), does play, when found in the commentaries, a fundamental hermeneutic role. Thus, I studied explicitly the divisio textus as the principal element of the medieval exegesis, and tried to explain why such proceeding was not renounceable in the mind of the medieval masters when approaching the Bible, as well as discover how they built a divisio textus, some of which quite overwhelming. A puzzling historical circ*mstance concerning the divisio was that it exploded abruptly in the exegetical practice, completely devoid of antecedent similar procedures and common sources, while at the same time appearing as a formal technique, equipped with well defined phases and canons4; as if possessing a long history. The analysis of the structure of the divisio I carried out5, confirmed its hermeneutical relevance, consisting in providing an access to the understanding of the biblical text by means of a complex proceeding, which unfolds in threefold stages: first, singling out thematic units within the whole biblical text to be commented; second, defining their content with a very synthetic formula; third, connecting each part with the preceding 3 By way of an example of divisio textus: «[…] accordingly, his Gospel is divided into two parts. In the first he states the divinity of Christ; in the second he shows it by the things Christ did in the flesh […]. In regard to the first, he does two things. First he shows the divinity of Christ; secondly he sets forth the manner in which Christ’s divinity is made known to us […]. Concerning the first he does two things…»; «[…] ideo dividitur istud Evangelium in partes duas. Primo enim insinuat Christi divinitatem; secundo manifestat eam per ea quae Christus in carne fecit […]. Circa primum duo facit. Primo proponit Christi divinitatem; secundo ponit modum, quo Christi divinitas nobis innotuit […]. Circa primum duo facit […]»: Thomas Aquinas, Lectura super Ioannem, cap. 1, I. 1. 4 Cf. M.M. ROSSI, «La divisio textus: indizio di un genere letterario?», in D. LORENZ – S. SERAFINI (edd.), Studi 1995, Angelicum University Press, Roma 1995, pp. 183-203 (Studia Pontificiae Universitatis a S. Thoma Aq. in Urbe, 2). 5 As far as I know, mine was the first attempt of its kind; in any case, a later essay addresses the same topic: Cf. J.F. BOYLE, «The Theological character of the Scholastic ‘Division of the Text’ with Particular Reference to the Commentaries of St Thomas Aquinas», in J. DAMMEN MCAULIFFE – B.D. WALFISH – J.W. GOERING (edd.), With Reverence for the Word: Medieval Scriptural Exegesis in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, Oxford University Press, Oxford 2003, pp. 276-291.

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and following units –usually introduced by ordinal numbers and arranged according to a logical development. On the basis of the description of a commentary provided by Hugh of St.Victor –a commentary consists in ‘dividing’6– as well as on the basis of the three stages of legere (that is, of commenting Holy Scripture) provided by Alexander of Hales –dividing the text into smaller and simpler units; grasping the doctrinal content of each minute part; coordinating each unit with the preceding and the following in a way that be consistent with both the sacred text and the conceptualization of it brought about by the divisio7– I assumed that those were likely to be the shared guidelines for the proceeding of the divisio textus. The divisio textus owes its fortune to the capability of both granting the simplification of a complex text and an easier understanding of it, and prompting theological definitions, formalization of biblical language and, finally, justification of the biblical sequence of verses. My research for useful hints to ground the medieval masters’ conviction that the divisio was a most prominent hermeneutical proceeding, made evident a possible influence of the logical rules given by Abelard and shaped on the rules given by Aristotle, which codified the act of the process of understanding: the divisio per membra varia and the definitio (both to be applied to biblical and to non-biblical texts)8; however, I found also that such proceeding was rooted in the ancient rhetoric art and underwent an ongoing refinement throughout the Carolingian and preScholastic periods. Given such a rich framework, the divisio textus could be considered the scientific method of that time, since medieval epistemology –quite unlike experimental epistemology, which will become popular in the time of the scientific revolution– was all based on the transmission and understanding of ancient works, constantly enriched with explanatory glossae, new sources, ongoing academic debates and reflections. Therefore, 6

«Legere in dividendo constat»: Hugh of St. Victor, Didascalicon, Lib. 6, cap. 12. The sentence leaves no doubt as to the relevance of the divisio inasmuch as hermeneutical method. 7 «Primus modus definitivus debet esse, divisivus, collectivus; et talis modus debet esse in humanis scientiis, quia apprehensio veritatis secundum humanam rationem explicatur per divisiones, definitiones, ratiocinationes»: Alexander of Hales, Summa Universae Theologiae, I, tract. introd., q. 1, 4, 1 ad 2. 8 Cf. M.M. ROSSI, «La divisio textus nei Commenti scritturistici di San Tommaso d’Aquino: un procedimento solo esegetico?», Angelicum, 71 (1994) 537-548.

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the epistemic background of the proceeding of the divisio textus revealed its undeniable scriptural finality, namely highlighting the harmony between divine Revelation and human knowledge, which was the highest aspiration of Scholastic theology. Once traced the epistemological presuppositions of the divisive proceeding, I turned my attention to a tentative understanding of the procedural aspect, that is of the making itself of a divisio: a first stage marked by the attempt of the master to grasp the whole text in its major parts, looking attentively for the leading theme –or themes– present in the first verses of the book to be commented. The major theme would then unfold its content throughout the book. Such content was then divided into macro-sections, so that the sense of that book would be offered in few sentences. I called this movement of the divisio ‘major division’, since it focused on the macroareas of the sacred text; a second phase consisted into breaking the text into small sentences (in the light of the theme announced in the major division); I called this movement of the divisio ‘minor division’. The first phase was centripetal, whereas the second was centrifugal. Moving from the macromessage to the micro-meaning and again from the micro-analysis to the macro-system: such must have been the labor of the masters in that time, working at a commentary. However, large part of the difficulty of the whole divisio textus consisted in the fact that the master could not modify or reorder the sequence in the text, since it was a sacred text. Within the minor divisions, as well as in the explanation of terms and meanings, the master could resort also to the traditional patristic interpretations and the opinions of his contemporary masters, which are often scattered in the commentary in the form of quotations and distinctions. Such way of proceeding required the usage of other hermeneutical tools, which interacted with the divisio: it is the case of concordances and gloses, typical tools of medieval exegesis, which granted the commentary the added value of a collatio of biblical-patristic teaching, of course, in the new shape provided by the divisio. The divisio was meant to be a didactical and mnemotechnical device as well, that is to provide a logical organization of the whole given book of the Bible, in order to facilitate memorization by the students. In this way, exegetical activity and preaching proved also deeply linked: in fact, in his itinerant ministry, the preacher had to be ready to quote verses from the Bible and to connect them quickly to the different topics addressed, quite often improvised.

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Surveyed in its depths, as well as overviewed in the array of the other exegetical tools, the divisio textus shows that –despite the ignorance of the medieval masters about the different editorial stratifications and the diversity of biblical genres– they had an attentive and intelligent listening to the Word of God and a keen grasp of the basic unity of the biblical text, most probably due to their familiarity with liturgy and the practice of the lectio divina. At the same time, the technique of the divisio allowed a certain amount of hermeneutical freedom as the master proceeded from the major division to the minor ones, according to his personal intuition and contemplative insight. So, though necessarily an exercise of hermeneutics, the divisio never forced any content into the Bible nor did it impose an extrinsic dialectics on it, but rather tried to mirror it, and to let emerge in a clearer way all its riches9. As I was surveying the divisio textus, it increasingly appeared to me as an architectonic construction, a sort of monumental structure intended to support the weight of theological concepts, as in the great cathedrals of the time; a building apt to hold the hermeneutical tradition of the past, as the axes of the medieval edifices. So, the exegetical work of the masters of the Middle Ages appeared to me as parallel with the architectonic and artistic production of the time, characterized both by huge basic structures and by minute handcrafted works. The proceeding of the artisan, as well as that of the artist, all caught up in discovering how to mold the matter to express the spirit, could prove a valid proceeding for the master too, all caught up in discovering how to mold the literal sense of the biblical text to give access to the mystery of God. The recurring mention of the architect in the writings of St. Thomas10 struck me and sounded as a confirmation of an analogy between the architect and the theologian.

An ‘Environ-mental Method’ In order to contribute to the understanding of the nature of the exegetical proceeding of St. Thomas Aquinas –and, consequently, of the 9 Such ‘specular’ character of the divisio textus has been highlighted in M.M. ROSSI, «La Expositio super Isaiam ad litteram: immagine speculativa e speculare dell’esegesi tomasiana», in T. ROSSI (ed.), Liber Viator. Grandi Commentari del pensiero cristiano, Angelicum University Press, Roma 2005, pp. 197-216 (= Studi, 8). 10 Cf. the recurrences in R. BUSA (ed.), Index thomisticus Sancti Thomae Aquinatis operum omnium, (vol. 2), Frommann-Horzboog, Stuttgart 1974.

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Middle Ages more in general– along that line of thought, I handcrafted a method, which I might call ‘environ-mental’, with its own specificity with respect to the mainstream (and quite fruitful) methodological approaches focused on the systematic works11. Strongly rooted in both approaches, the environ-mental method I propose henceforth does take start from the text itself, though it differs from a textual approach inasmuch as it searches for the spatial relationship defined by the elements present in the text, rather than displaying them in terms of implicit and explicit sources, principles and binding force, conceptual links in the sequence of the text, conclusions and giving account of them. At the same time, the environ-mental method does look at the history, though it differs from a historical-critical approach inasmuch as it searches for historical references in the text as selected and filtered by the master, rather than looking at history as the context highlighting the meaning of the text. Therefore, since the environ-mental method looks at the text taking into privileged consideration the overall circ*mstances provided by history, inasmuch as perceived in their relevance by the master and selected to meet his purposes in writing a work, such method looks for the subjectivation of historical circ*mstances present in the text rather than taking into account the objectivation of those same circ*mstances12; and since the environ-mental method, at the same time, peers into the mental setting of the master as detectable by the text and in dialogue with his contemporary times, I call it ‘environ-mental’ –willingly separated by a hyphen–, playing a little bit with words to convey the idea of the twofold perspective looked for at once in approaching the text. Such method, therefore, looks at all the cross-elements in order to detect in the text its multi-dimensional relationship to the environment. 11 On the different trends of Thomism Cf. M.M. ROSSI, «Methodological Guide to Interpreting the Texts of Saint Thomas Aquinas», Angelicum, 85 (2008) 519-537, especially 523-533. 12 Let me explain what I mean by ‘objectivation’ and ‘subjectivation’ by offering an example: the polemical debate over the religious life is the common historical frame of many texts in many medieval authors and, as such, present and emerging in various ways in their writings; however, such objective datum, once put in dialogue with the understanding of the mental setting in which the master subjectively operates and which the master intends to address, does not simply portrays history, but the effort of the master to produce history, to forge the commitment of his addressees to behave justly and virtuously in a given historical frame; to mould their sense of belonging to a given time and, even more, to help them to give history a curve and situate it in the wider history of salvation.

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The expression ‘spatial relationship’ –mentioned above– refers specifically to the mental space defined by all elements present in the text (and thus implied in the analysis), considered in the structural position granted to them by the master, which determines their epistemic value within the progression of the text. As it may be noted, the emphasis is both on the relationship among the elements, rather than on their nature and (somehow) predictable function within the text13 and on the architectural blueprint of the master. As it will be exposed in the next pages, architecture plays a paradigm role in forging the mentality of the Middle Ages’ scholars, and just as such art will be considered governing other arts and forms of knowledge –by means of its theoretical aspects– and productive ability –by means of its practical aspect– in the same way the theologian will conceive a blueprint of his theological building and will attentively look for ways to obtain the final product. The ordo doctrinae of his final production, displayed by the text in the form in which it appears, should be considered as the visualization of the theologian’s blueprint14, whereas the ordo inventionis of his final production –deduced by the exam of his procedure– should be considered as the hidden path to such visualization, witnessing the specific skill of the theologian (or of the preacher, in the case of the sermon) to recognize and forge the mental assessment of his addressees in order to transmit faith. Examined from this corner, my position is undoubtedly close to the theoretical scenery opened by O. Von Simson, C. Rudolph, E. Panofski, and, finally, of C.M. Radding and W.W. Clark15, aiming at establishing 13

I mean to say that each element (for instance, a quotation, or a statement, or an example, etc…) –despite its intrinsic value and nature– is chosen by the master according to the specific finality of the sermon, which requires mobility and flexibility of the material according to the circ*mstances. 14 I have noticed that St. Thomas’s texts have a quite remarkable potentiality (and power) for visualization, in the sense that –as they progress in the argument– they convey powerful and truthful mental suggestions. His exegesis is somehow ‘threedimensional’. 15 As Clark and others remark, scholars have different opinions on the question: architecture as derived from theology; architecture as to be considered comparatively with theological treatises; architecture as to be read according to the functions of the different edifices, and so on. Radding and Clark propose a shift of attention from monuments and treatises to the people who created them: Cf. C.M. RADDING – W.W. CLARK, Architettura e sapere nel medioevo. Costruttori e maestri tra Romanico e Gotico, Vita e Pensiero, Milano 1997, pp. 4-5 (Arti e Scritture, 10). Cf. also A.

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comparisons and genetic kinships among the different realms of knowledge in the Middle Ages (ranging from geometry to theology, from architecture to mathematics, etc…); however, an investigation carried out with an environ-mental attitude strictly follows the paths opened by the text analyzed in its lexical hints, structural and conceptual indications, and leads to the discovery of genetic kinships and exhibiting a certain amount of potentiality for visualization, which I retain to be one of the most important theoretical-gnoseological priorities of the Middle Ages’ masters or, at least, of St. Thomas16. The environ-mental method is, therefore, quite attentive to the interaction of the many elements: when applied to a sermon, the method is even more demanding, since a sermon has manifold relationships: to the Bible, to the pedagogical finalities and, finally, to contemporary times. Consequently, the construction of a sermon is a work of crucial importance. I have already stated the relevance of the osmosis –typical of the Middle Ages– between theoretical knowledge and practical realization (requiring both a practical knowledge and some technical skills); such interest into the two realms of knowledge can be turned into a question, underpinning much of the Middle Ages’ cultural quest: «How can a determined purpose be obtained?». Much stress is put on the quomodo (the way in which, the method in the Greek etymological sense of ‘the path/criterion to’) to a certain purpose17. The question can go both ways: «What kind of mental knowledge is required to obtain a certain construction?», and «How can a certain knowledge or concept be easily visualized?»18: as a consequence, architecture enjoys a special development and growth during the Middle Ages, to the extent that not only does such an art is taken as a metaphor for the role of metaphysics (governing the other sciences, undoubtedly alongside with the stress put on it by Aristotle), but –regardless the place assigned to it by the hierarchy of sciences, which ranked it under GUREVICH, Historical Anthropology of the Middle Ages, Polity Press, Cambridge 1992, part 1. 16 I am at present carrying out a research along this line of method on St. Thomas’s sermon Puer Iesus. 17 Cf. A. MACINTYRE, Three Rival Versions of Moral Enquiry (Encyclopaedia, Genealogy and Tradition), University of Notre Dame Press, Notre Dame IN 1990, cap. 13. 18 On the intellectual curiosity raised by the search for architectural solutions, cf. RADDING – CLARK, Architettura e sapere nel medioevo, pp. 7-8.

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mechanical arts, thus below the higher arts– architecture determines a social revolution in the way traditional Corporations are seen and raises a burning debate19. The environ-mental method of research accepts the challenge of listening to what a medieval text can say; when approaching a medieval text, in fact, an experimental attitude is needed not only for the temporal distance –which renders difficult to peer into the mental universe of the author– but also, and more importantly, because the level of complexity of the research and the accuracy of the analysis must be proportionate to the relevance granted to the genre by the medieval thinkers. There is no doubt that such was the case of sermons, especially among Mendicants, who conceived writing and preaching as a necessary ministry to God, the Church and the truth, and who felt responsible for what they wrote or preached. Given such premise, it seems to me that an experimental method, inclusive of all others, yet looking to face the challenges of the text and open to the contribution of all sciences, can prove fruitful. As a consequence, the environ-mental method imposes to maintain the analysis of the text within the network of two hermeneutical mainstreams: the consideration of the mental as a space, and the consideration of architecture as the major metaphor for building theoretical treatises. The environ-mental method seems to me particularly fitting to give account of –and almost to observe– the work of the theologian to transmit faith, at the crossroad of culture, history, religious charisms, lifestyle and geographical place, in that particular ‘source’ of his theological ministry which was his cell. The friar who –likely in the retreat of his cell– was on the verge of preparing a sermon, then, had to take into consideration three major leading characters in it: the Word of God, the human experience (coupled to contemporary times) and an architectural unitary structure. The friar found time to study, to teach, to dispute, to travel, to govern the community, to pray, to write, to contemplate, to carry out almsgiving and spiritual direction, but when he reached his cell to prepare a sermon, his attention had to be all caught up in attending to the Bible, to contemporary life and to pedagogical efficacy. The Bible provided the necessary reference to the 19

An emblematic case is that of the disputation of Nicholas de Biart, cf. E. CASTELNUOVO, «L’artista», in J. LE GOFF (ed.), L’uomo medievale, Editori Laterza, Roma – Bari 1993, p. 261.

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eternal words of God’s revelation, and can be found in the constant and qualified network of quotations, according to the motto «explaining the Bible biblically» (exponere Bibliam biblice20), mostly introduced by the expression: ‘therefore’, ‘hence’, ‘for this reason’ (et ideo, unde, propter hoc). Contemporary life can be found in the selection of the themes to be dealt with: in fact, the preacher could address many different topics to comment a given biblical passage, so the concrete choice of topic he made says, of course, much of his sensibility and vision of contemporary times. The pedagogical efficacy can be found in many ways, though very often mold by the analogy with the art of architecture and the quite hectic world revolving around it. Such rich world could have shaped as well the aspirations of the Middle Ages’ cultural attitude even more than they might have been aware of, and indwelled the interiority of the masters of the Middle Ages. Since the environ-mental method is meant to take into consideration both the way the elements in the text appear in their linear sequence, and the way those same elements appear in a value-laden reading –that is granting them different conceptual weight according to frequency, combination, function –in the present essay I shall necessarily limit my reflection to proposing a parallel between the nature of the theological genres and mental faculties mainly implied in understanding them. It is my opinion that the cogitative is the faculty addressed by a preacher and that the exempla is its privileged expression.

2. Mental functions and theological genres Architecture: a marker of the Middle Ages’ epistemological revolution By way of a premise and since the environ-mental method aims at detecting the mental world of the theologian, it is worth noting that such world was largely influenced by the evolution of architecture, which in those decades was revealing itself not only as a technique, but as a science interested also into the mental process behind concrete solutions. At the 20

On the meaning of the motto Cf. M. TEEUWEN, The Vocabulary of the Intellectual Life in the Middle Ages, Brepols, Turnhout 2003, p. 243 (Civicima, 10). Cf. also M.C. PACHECO (ed.), Le vocabulaire des écoles des Mendiants au moyen ȃge, Brepols, Turnhout 1999 (Civicima, 9).

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same time, the world of the theologian was even more largely influenced by the epistemic revolution of theology as a science, at the centre of which was an enquiry on knowledge. As a result, the theological works of the Middle Ages’ masters may be regarded as a searching for a way to build the inner architecture of the faithful through the invention of new theological genres meant to address precise mental functions. In the present chapter is first highlighted the evolution of architecture; then is recalled the reshaping of gnoseology considered as the leading character of the whole theological enterprise and the search for its genres; finally, the tentative correspondence of theological genres to mental faculties is offered. The ascent of the figure and role of the architect in the social environment of the Middle Ages21 shows an important shift in the vision of the hierarchy of sciences provided by the masters, divided between appreciating the old and welcoming the new. Unlike the conception of architecture of the ancient times (and, interestingly enough, of the modern as well), where ‘architect’ was called someone conceiving the project of an edifice according to his creativeness and capable of commanding the workforce, during the early Middle Ages the architect was associated to a craftsman, whose ability was mainly (and simply) that of building an edifice and shaping matter accordingly, as well as producing personally his products, original in their decorations and style22, but still ranked among the mechanical art and practical skills. The work of the architect, then, was considered similar to that of the craftsmen’s products, thus on the opposite side with respect to theoretical knowledge, as well as engulfed in the anonymous realm of artisans and workers. The project-oriented and artistic dimension had no place at all in the classification of the liberal Arts carried out by Martianus Capella, nor in the division of all arts as presented by Hugh of St.Victor23, and the architect, just like any other mechanical artifex, did not sign his works, nor was he the object of biographies; he was often chosen among clerics with sufficient knowledge concerning building and decorating materials, and the very 21 On the evolution of the meaning of architecture Cf.: CASTELNUOVO, «L’artista», pp. 238-245; N. PEVSNER, «The term ‘architect’ in the middle ages», Speculum, 17 (1942) 549-562. 22 Cf. PEVSNER, «The term ‘architect’», p. 553. 23 Listed under the art of building weapons, as the technique of building defense structures both in walling or in wood, it is said to be carried out by bricklayers and carpenters: Cf. Hugh of St. Victor, Didascalicon, Lib. 2, cap. 22.

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term was attributed to the sponsor to whom the glory and merit of the work usually went24. What is known for certain is that the responsible for a new edifice of monks were the abbots, who could allot sums of money to that purpose, or were those friars who were intermediaries between abbots and workers (more rarely the sponsor was a lay person): these figures were given the name of ‘architect’25. Regardless the name of architect given to the one who ordered the commission, these architects simply gave general lines. A quite different awareness of the art of architecture begins in the 11th and 12th centuries through the work of some very talented architects, who grant their work such overwhelming symbolic value as to transfigure the materiality of the elements used, thus ranking architecture more under the expressions of human genius than under the work of construction. Such is the case of Suger of St.Denis and of Matthew Paris, but also, increasingly, the work of many goldsmiths, glassworkers, painters and miniature decorators, who managed to express sublime concepts and theological beauty through the shaping of matter in their hands. As a consequence, artists began to be considered very important and were contended by Church as well as civic sponsors. They could then increasingly refine their specific as well as general preparation, half way between craft and knowledge. In such a way, their art slowly looses its initial status of merely mechanical art, their salaries improve, their work begins to be appreciated and praised in public inscriptions as a sign of collective gratitude. The development of the role of the architect, as well as that of similar arts, varies according to the ability of such architects and to the places: in some cases, the term includes the skills of project making, work direction and building; in other cases, a distinction is made between the work of the sculptor and that of the stonecutter; in some cases, the master builder or a carpenter is also skilled in the field of project making; in other cases the stonecutter acts like the master builder; in some places, the architect enjoys the same consideration as the sponsor or the university master26; in other 24

Cf. PEVSNER, «The term ‘architect’», p. 553. Cf. ibid., p. 553. 26 It is the case, for instance, of the architect of St.Nicaise in Reims, represented in paintings with the project in his hands, as customary for the sponsors in those times: Cf. CASTELNUOVO, L’artista, p. 262. On the architects of Churches as event-makers Cf. also M. BACCI, Lo spazio dell’anima. Vita di una chiesa medievale, Editori Laterza e Figli, Roma – Bari 2005. 25

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places, the architect is reproached for the high salary requested for doing almost nothing, except simply planning and commanding27. For these reasons, though architecture is a prominent art in the urbanization of the Middle Ages, involving wisdom, technical notions and summoning different artisans and builders in its concrete realization, is given poor attention by the sources. The scarcity of explicit sources, though, supplying information –which have to be rather collected from scattered passages in treatises dealing with other arts and disciplines– makes it difficult to establish the interactions and relationships of all masters, artisans and workers involved in the building of an edifice28. Speaking of architecture and figurative arts as intellectual realms is not possible in the 12th century, though the distinction among the different skills related to architecture, and the alliance between theology and architecture becomes more evident in the course of the century, to the extent that is possible –in fact, necessary– to think of architectural blueprints in terms of logical structures29, at least in the most elaborated and sophisticated instances and to wonder which kind of mental path might have led the architect to conceive a determined blueprint. The functionalist approach of the 20th century scholars, in fact, which analyzes an edifice starting by its function, has given the way to a more theoretical understanding, which looks at the edifice as the bearer of meaning and ideas, and the cathedrals as the environmental correlative of theoretical summas30. According to such 27

It is the case of Nicholas of Biart, who uses the term ‘architect’ as theoricus and principalis artifex: Cf. PEVSNER, «The term ‘architect’», p. 561; Cf. also CASTELNUOVO, L’artista, p. 261. 28 Cf. J. LE GOFF, Tempo della Chiesa e tempo del mercante. E altri saggi sul lavoro e sulla cultura nel Medioevo, Einaudi, Torino 19773 (Einaudi Paperbacks, 78). Cf. also T.R. SLATER – G. ROSSER (edd.), The Church in the Medieval Town, Ashgate Publishing Company, Aldershot 1998. 29 Cf. also RADDING – CLARK, Architettura e sapere nel medioevo, pp. 3-4. On the role of architecture among the other artistical expressions Cf. also: S. BLICK – R. TEKIPPE (edd.), Art and Architecture of Late Medieval Pilgrimage in Northern Europe and the British Isles. Plates, Brill, Leiden 2005 (Studies in Medieval and Reformation Traditions, 104). 30 Cf.: O VON SIMPSON, The Gothic Cathedral. Origins of gothic architecture and the medieval concept of order, Pantheon, New York 1956 (Bollingen Series, 48); C. RUDOLPH, Artistic Change at St-Denis: Abbot Suger’s Program and the Early Twelfth-Century Controversy Over Art, Princeton University Press, Princeton 1990; E. PANOFSKI, Gothic Architecture and Scholasticism, Archabbey Press, Latrobe (Pa.) 1951; Cf. also RADDING – CLARK, Architettura e sapere nel medioevo, p. 20.

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approach, it is possible to establish that both edifices and new literary genres were the outcome of the same determination to find new forms of expression, challenging artists themselves to find unprecedented solutions and methods to prompt more intense impressions in the passer-by. The emphasis is, then, on the creative moment and on the method, rather than on the realization, that is on the cognitive dimension of the author and on his capacities to innovate, to invent effects, to conquer spaces and to transform his art itself31. On a chronological note, the period in which architecture begins to be seen as different from other skills and arts, is the same in which masters move from the commentary of old texts to the genre of the summa32, implying a creative activity and the unification of many elements under an original and consistent system of concepts and project-oriented elements33. It is possible to imagine that theologians working during that transition time –beside enjoying the glorious impression of marvelous sacred edifices– grasped also the epistemological potentiality of an art half way between theory and practice and capable to mediate concepts through visual power and to translate reasoning into impression. The Didascalicon, one of the masterpieces of Hugh of St.Victor34, places architecture among the mechanical arts, thus ranking it as in the 31

Cf. RADDING – CLARK, Architettura e sapere nel medioevo, pp. 14-16. Cf. ibid., p. 63. 33 Cf. ibid., pp. 157-158. 34 The work belongs to the so called didactical literature, common to Patristic period as well as early medieval time. Composed in Paris roughly in 1125, this work by Hugh of St. Victor aimed at providing an orientation and practical advices in theological studies: starting from the very basic human knowledge (the traditional arts) as a necessary support to exegetical enterprise and the latter as a necessary support for the understanding of the mystery of God and the spiritual growth, he presents matter, order, purpose, and methodologies proper to each science: Cf. E. NICOLAI, Hermeneutical Principles in the ‘Didascalicon’ of Hugh of St. Victor, Pontificium Athenaeum Sanctae Crucis, Romae 1996, pp. 61-63. Rorem suggests to develop in a systematic fashion the interest of Hugh of St. Victor for the heavenly hierarchy, on which he wrote a wide commentary; such reading may have given him a Pseudo-Denis nuance to his further writings, as well as contributed to the spreading of Pseudo-Denis in the late Middle Ages. Pseudo-Denis had been introduced in the West since the 9th century, when the Byzantine emperor had given to the French king a manuscript, a personal property of his, written by Pseudo-Denis, knowing the deep devotion of the French people for St. Denis. So it should raise no wonder that in the 12th century the increasing interest for Denis will take start right in Paris and Laon: Cf. P. ROREM, Hugh of Saint Victor, Oxford University Press, Oxford – New York 2009, pp. 167-176. 32

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vision inherited by the high Middle Ages, while at the same time organizing his Didascalicon according more the low Middle Ages mentality, thus recovering a strong sense of architectural structures. After all, the high Middle Ages thinkers thematize the analogy between the study of the Bible as the fabrica mentis35. In the Didascalicon, Hugh of St.Victor displays the division of knowledge in an comprehensive blueprint which joins together the theoretical content with the pedagogical finality, by means of a unified architecture springing from the heights of Divine Wisdom to the depths of human knowledge and paving the way to the different branches of human science and wisdom – which are the objects of rational investigation by the human being–, in a fashion capable of never losing sight of the attractive tension of the climax, as well as capable of taking back the attention of the listener at any moment, through the visibility of the theoretical line of thought, to the beginning and source of the treatise. Undoubtedly a crucial work, which in its heuristic power36, could not but constitute a milestone in the building of knowledge in the Middle Ages, as well as a background of the cultural attitude of thinkers to come. Among the many and all equally striking features of the work, maybe the most appealing for its strategic location is constituted by the appearance of the human soul in a probative position with respect to the gnoseological assessment of the search for truth among the ancient thinkers –from whom Hugh of St.Victor begins his work– and in an anticipating position with respect to the epistemological treatise following shortly afterwards, and which will move from the intuition of the immateriality of the process of knowing and the affirmation of Divine Wisdom (source of all knowledge) to the organization of any knowledge. The good represented by the philosophical enquiry –Hugh’s starting point– is carried out solely by the human soul which, in its potentiality to receive the divine gifts, reveals as the way leading to the highest participation of the human being to Divine Wisdom by joining the two exclusive prerogatives of the human being inasmuch as made in the image of God, namely thinking and acting:

Cf. Gregory of Great, Epistula missoria, 3; Hugh of St. Victor, Didascalicon,

Lib. 6. 36

And, I would like to add, written in an extremely fashionable style.

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This love of Wisdom, moreover, is an illumination of the apprehending mind by that pure Wisdom and, in a certain way, a drawing and a calling back to Itself of man’s mind, so that the pursuit of Wisdom appears like friendship with that Divinity and pure Mind. This Wisdom bestows upon every manner of souls the benefits of its own divinity, and brings them back to their proper force and purity of their nature. From it are born truth of speculation and of thought and holy and pure chastity of action37.

A twofold –though unified– task for the human being will follow: contemplating the truth and practicing virtue, which restore the divine likeness in man38, as well as two distinct forms of knowledge governing the two realms: […] there are two matters upon which the power of the reasoning soul spends every effort: one is that it may know the natures of things by the method of inquiry; but the other is that there may first come to its knowledge those things which morals earnestness will thereafter transform into action39.

The pedagogical concern, fully implied among the finalities of the work of Hugh of St.Victor along with the theoretical finality, I would dare saying, is detectable in the following words, found a few lines below the beginning of the work, profiling teaching not only as a necessary human activity, but also as a social task:

37 «Est autem hic amor sapientiae, intelligentis animi ab illa pura sapientia illuminatio, et quodammodo ad seipsam retractio atque advocatio, ut videatur sapientiae studium divinitatis et purae mentis illius amicitia. Haec igitur sapientia cuncto animarum generi meritum suae divinitatis imponit, et ad propriam naturae vim puritatemque reducit. Hinc nascitur speculationum cogitationumque veritas, et sancta puraque actuum castimonia»: Hugh of St. Victor, Didascalicon, Lib. 1, cap. 2. I use the translation by J. TAYLOR, The Didascalicon of Hugh of St.Victor. A Medieval Guide to the Arts, Columbia University Press, New York 19912. 38 «Duo vero sunt quae divinam in homine similitudinem reparant, id est, speculatio veritatis et virtutis exercitium»: Hugh of St. Victor, Didascalicon, Lib. 1, cap. 8. 39 «[…] duo sunt in quibus omnem operam vis animae ratiocinantis impendit, unum quidem ut rerum naturas inquisitionis ratione cognoscat, alterum vero, ut ad scientiam prius veniat, quod post gravitas moralis exerceat»: ibid., Lib.1, cap. 3.

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We see how a wall receives a likeness when the form of some image or other is put upon it from outside. But when a coiner imprints a figure upon metal, the metal, which itself is one thing, begins to represent a different thing, not just on the outside, but from its own power and its natural aptitude to do so. It is in this way that the mind, imprinted with the likeness of all things, is said to be all things and to receive its composition from all things and to contain them not as actual components, or formally, but virtually and potentially. This, then, is that dignity of our nature which all naturally possess in equal measure, but which all do not equally understand. For the mind, stupefied by bodily sensations and enticed out of itself by sensuous forms, has forgotten what it was, and, because does not remember that it was anything different, believes that it is nothing except what is seen. But we are restored through instruction, so that we may recognize our nature and learn not to seek outside ourselves what we can find within. ‘The highest curative in life’, therefore, is the pursuit of Wisdom: he who finds it is happy, and he who possesses it, blessed40.

Knowledge: a crossroad of theological enquire The lesson St. Thomas might have learned by the reading and certain meditation of such relevant work must have been that of a teaching capable of joining together –regardless the underpinning philosophical approach chosen41– the pedagogical concern of helping the assimilation of concepts 40

«Videmus cum paries extrinsecus adveniente forma imaginis cuiuslibet similitudinem accipit. Cum vero impressor metallo figuram imprimit, ipsum quidem non extrinsecus, sed ex propria virtute et naturali habilitate aliud iam aliquid repraesentare incipit. Sic nimirum mens, rerum omnium similitudine insignita, omnia esse dicitur, atque ex omnibus compositionem suscipere, non integraliter, sed virtualiter atque potentialiter continere, et haec est illa, naturae nostrae dignitas quam omnes aeque naturaliter habent, sed non omnes aeque noverunt. Animus enim, corporeis passionibus consopitus et per sensibiles formas extra semetipsum abductus, oblitus est quid fuerit,et, quia nil aliud fuisse se meminit, nil praeter quod videtur esse credit. Reparamur autem per doctrinam, ut nostrum agnoscamus naturam, et ut discamus extra non quaerere quod in nobis possumus invenire. Summum igitur in vita solamen est studium sapientiae, quam qui invenit felix est, et qui possidet beatus»: ibid., Lib. 1, cap. 1. 41 Evidently Platonic-Augustinian for Hugh of St. Victor, differently for St. Thomas.

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and the theoretical content, in such a conceptual welding as to render the content immediately available to the knowing ability of the addressee by means of a pedagogical architecture. At the same time, St. Thomas might have fully absorbed the intellectual atmosphere of its times, largely influenced by many and genius visions of previous thinkers among whom Hugh of St.Victor, so to capture the intellectual sensitivity of these pioneers of the new knowing, who were able to identify in the partitions of the soul42 (a substance capable of containing each reality in a virtual and potential way) a potentiality to structure all knowledge. The task of the intellectual, which in the case of St. Thomas was also the exercise of the specific charism of his Order, became, in such a cultural environment, that of showing to each human being –bearer of the image of God– the path to the knowledge of truth and to a life of holiness, by using (or even inventing, if necessary) all the pedagogical tools available to the masters or the preachers, and by resorting to their experience of ministries of God and of human beings, but also by trying to localize what might be called a noetic stance43 of the listeners (differently gathered according to their status, or to the liturgical circ*mstance, or to the time and place), who had purposely come to listen to the preaching44. The different theological genres, the rich variety of the conceptual tools and procedures, the teaching and pedagogical devices are all originated and provided by the varied panorama and by the restless ferment of those decades, decisive for the whole Western culture, with the only purpose of awakening in the people the perception of their great destiny in the salvation offered in Christ. 42 Cf. Hugh of St. Victor, Didascalicon, Lib. 1, cap. 3-4. It may be of some interest to note how, since the ancient times, the social organization, as well as its public debate, was seen as mirroring the partition of the soul: on the issue Cf. S. HAMPSHIRE, Innocence and Experience, Allen Lane, London 1989, cap. 1. 43 Namely the condition of the addressee in terms of intellectual level, cultural understatements, existential expectations and inner quest for motivation to action. 44 The elaboration of the Aristotelian doctrine on the relationship between sense and intellectual knowledge is present, roughly a century later, in the teaching of Girolamo Savonarola, who recommended his students to use vivid images, which impress the mind of the poeple, in order to help them pervene to universal truths, quoting St. Thomas and somehow enhancing a Dominican tradition in preaching; cf. I. CLOULAS, Savonarola, Piemme, Casale Monferrato (Al) 1998, pp. 43-44.

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In such a framework, the research and discovery of unifying architectural categories, common to all masters as well as to artists in the Middle Ages, never meant to be simplifications of reality: on the opposite, they meant to mirror the complexity of reality, as evidently appears when approaching medieval treatises. For this reason, unity of pedagogical construction in their works never means naivety of approach, but rather flexibility of discourse and suitability to be at once linked to the principal line of thought and to the primeval division of the treatise. The art of architecture –as previously stated– enjoyed a special status among other arts and knowledge due to its twofold relationship both to theoretical and practical knowledge, as well as to its kinship with philosophical metaphysical reflection, which was the discipline capable of organizing all knowledge45. Moreover, architecture –probably just like medicine, since ancient times at the crossroad of philosophy and biology– was considered also a wisdom, and a causative knowledge capable of commanding the practical enterprise of the realization of the project. For all these reasons, more than other knowledge, architecture could express the obscure labor of intellectual pregnancy and the bright concept (in the etymological sense of ‘generated’ from the Latin term concipio) that was delivered. The problem of knowledge was at the core of much of the Middle Ages’ intellectual quest, given the extraordinary strategic place of gnoseology, at the crossroad of theology, cosmology and anthropology, as well as of Aristotelian and Platonic traditions of thought. Consequently, treatises on knowledge of medieval masters are to be considered rather like networks linked to many questions of different kind than like monolithic pieces of doctrine. St. Thomas is, of course, no exception: on the opposite, he seems to use the theory on knowledge as middle term in a semantic syllogism joining together the Aristotelian and the Christian tradition of thought. In fact, the doctrine concerning the immateriality of knowledge, which was an acquisition of the Aristotelian teaching, could represent an inescapable step of the ascent towards the metaphysical demonstration of the subsistence of the soul, principle of knowledge; at the same time, it could likewise

Cf. M.M. ROSSI – T. ROSSI, L’anima tomista di Benedetto XVI. L’impronta di San Tommaso nei temi chiave di Papa Ratzinger: un’eredità per la Chiesa del futuro, Angelicum University Press, Roma 2013, pp. 21-27.

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represent an inescapable step in the descent of the Christian thought towards the affirmation of the specific role of the body in the process of knowing. The q. 75 of the Prima Pars of the Summa Theologiae is the most eloquent example of such awareness of the multifaceted aspects of the problem, besides being the specific treatise on the topic of knowledge, rightly framed in the larger investigation on the soul, namely in a metaphysical framework46. The very sequence of St. Thomas’s articles in q. 75 provides the bridge between philosophical and theological reflection in a unified and consistent line of thought, as well as shows a sort of anabasis towards grasping the sense and purpose of the human journey through the explanation of the nature of the soul and knowledge47. The underpinning –though unquoted–principle behind the treatise is the difference between the consideration of the soul as motor of the body, and the consideration of the soul as spirit: whereas the soul as motor proves totally fit for the body’s 46 Pasnau makes a very interesting point concerning the way in which the Middle Ages shaped the reflection on the human soul and highlighted its implication on the human nature and knowledge: «[…] the human soul will be responsible for what makes us essentially human. Here we face a choice. On one picture of human nature, we are simply minds, incidentally attached, for a certain period of time, to a certain sort of body. On another sort of picture, we are essentially biological organisms, coming into existence through certain biological processes and existing for as long as the living organism exists. On this view, we are not essentially minds at all. These two perspectives point towards two different directions along which one might develop a theory of the human soul. Medieval authors, however, almost without exception, refuse to choose one option to the exclusion of the other. Instead, they treat it as essential to human nature both to be essentially minds and to be essentially biological organism. This is the point of the familiar definition of human beings as rational animals. To have it both ways requires viewing the human soul as fulfilling two quite different functions, one biological and the other psychological. The soul must be, in short, both a mind and the soul of the body. For later medieval Christian authors, such a double function was, in fact, an ecclesiastical mandate»: R. PASNAU, «Mind and Hylomorphism», in J. MARENBON (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Medieval Philosophy, Oxford University Press, Oxford 2012, pp. 492-493. 47 As shown in the sequence of the questions raised by St. Thomas whether the soul is corporeal; whether the human soul is something which subsists; whether the soul of brutes subsists; whether the soul is the man, or whether, rather, man is not a compound of soul and body; whether the soul is compounded of matter and form; whether the human soul can pass away; whether the soul is the same sort of thing as an angel: Cf. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, I, q. 75, aa. 1-7.

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potentialities, the soul as spirit reveals its transcendence with respect to the body48. As a consequence, while the soul needs the body’s corporeal organs and faculties –though to different degrees– to start up the act of knowing and willing (which are the distinctive marks of the human being) since those acts require a device adequate to the condition of the physical reality, in the condition of the soul after death, the soul will be able –by its own nature– to perform the act of knowing and willing without the body, as it does not need the body even in the condition of the earthly pilgrimage to perform the higher phases of knowledge. The relevance of such reflection for the Christian doctrine is decisive, though not explicitly expressed in the q. 75: the purpose of the human existence on earth is to learn to know and to want God, Source and End of every being49. So, not simply a theoretical question –that concerning the dynamics of knowledge– but an indication of the direction of the human existence and a grasp of the very sense of living. Once assessed the relevance of the question of knowledge within a metaphysical enquiry, a debate at stake concerned the concrete unfolding of knowledge, namely steps, modalities and overall process. Questions were raised practically at all stages of the knowing process: in fact, about the role of external senses, the mode of function of internal senses, the 48

Cf. ibid., I, q. 78, a. 1. A very interesting and thomistically oriented perspective on the purpose of living comes from Zoffoli: «Vivo ora per vivere sempre. La vita è fine a se stessa, perché valore assoluto, ultimo, insopprimibile. E intendo la vita ch’è tutta mia, cioè pullulante dal fondo più segreto del mio essere di persona, condizionata solo al mio volere che, appunto, è già vita in atto quale tensione realizzatrice del mio definitivo sviluppo o pienezza di adesione all’Assoluto […]. Sempre in me, anche se aperto a tutto ‘l’altro’; sempre di me e per me, pur domandandomi e anzi nella misura che mi dono, perseguo lo scopo della mia esistenza crescendo, ossia raggiungendo le dimensioni che mi spettano, assumendo il volto ch’è già mio, attuando tutta la verità che mi costituisce […]. Verissimo che i bisogni della vita pungono, incalzano: io devo soddisfarli. Ma ciò solo nella misura in cui mi è realmente possibile, oltre la quale ostinarmi ad esigere e combattere, protestare e inveire costituisce l’unica mia sventura, derivata dal più grave dei miei errori di valutazione dei beni e del loro rapporto con la mia vita e il mio destino. In fondo, saper vivere vuol dire evolvermi come persona, cioè ridurre ogni complicazione e conflitto alla suprema unità della mia meta ultraterrena; emanciparmi gradualmente dal fascino delle cose mediante un’interiorizzazione destinata a farmi godere la pace nell’equilibrio e nella libertà: quella tipica della più trepida e stupenda vigilia riservata a dei mortali»: E. ZOFFOLI, Ed io che sono?, Editrice Il Crivello, Cittadella (Pd) 1972, pp. 133-134. 49

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dynamics of the passive or active intellect were all under scrutiny and largely debated among masters. Even the doctrine of St. Thomas is not quite clear, as many scholars attempt at explaining the overall picture without –at least apparent– inconsistencies50. If ancient and medieval reflection accept and exalt the link between biological structure and the forms of argumentation, it does not appear out of place to suppose that St. Thomas had a sensibility to forge topics within the theological genres –as they have been identified and studied by scholars51– somehow according to the different functions of the mind implied in the process of knowing, in order to facilitate conceptual assimilation in the listener. The hints of the work by Hugh of St.Victor, conveniently coupled with the genius of St. Thomas in an environment ready to face any innovation, might have pushed St. Thomas to find the architectural-pedagogical unity right in the hom*ology between structures of the text and functions of the mind, as the environ-mental method allows to insinuate. The theory on abstraction and the doctrine of the mental operations as manifestation of the soul could work as extraordinary means to reach the desired argumentative efficacy, adequate to the audience, to the circ*mstances and to the genre chosen. If such an hypothesis is viable – though in each phase of any knowing process all human intelligence is

Since even the texts leave room to some doubts, thus allowing different interpretation in the scholars. On the specific issue of the judgment of animals see the divergent positions of A. KENNY, Aquinas on Mind, Routledge, London – New York 1993, p. 82 (= Topics in Medieval Philosophy), and A. MACINTYRE, Dependent Rational Animals. Why Human Beings Need the Virtues, Carus Publishing Company, Chicago (Ill.) 1999, cap. 6. Cf. also: A. CAPARELLO (ed.), La conoscenza sensibile. Commenti ai libri di Aristotele De sensu et sensato, De memoria et reminiscentia, ESD, Bologna 1997; D. FREDE, «Aquinas on Phantasia», in D. PERLER (ed.), Ancient And Medieval Theories of Intentionality, Brill, Leiden – Boston – Köln 2001, pp. 155-183; É. GILSON, Il Tomismo. Introduzione alla filosofia di san Tommaso d’Aquino, Jaka Book, Milano 2011, pp. 351-375 (Biblioteca di Cultura Medievale, 942); J. A. IZQUIERDO LABEAGA, La vita intellettiva, Lectio Sancti Thomae Aquinatis, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Città del Vaticano 1994 (Studi Tomistici, 55). 51 The interest of the scholars toward these minor genres has remarkably increased, though not all of such genres have been fully identified and classified; a very interesting genre is, for instance, the so called processus: Cf. L.-J. BATAILLON, «De la ‘lectio’ à la ‘praedicatio’. Commentaires bibliques et sermons au XIIIe siècle», Revue des Sciences Philosophiques et Théologiques, 70 (1986) 559-575.

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implied to its width and each argument appeals to the human rationality as a whole–, a determined genre would preferably refer to a function of the mind and another genre to another function. I have already recalled the special concern of the Middle Ages’ thinkers for the pedagogical claim, which did imply –at least when talking about sermonial activity– rendering the rational investigation in each field a meaningful experience resonating in the hearts of the listeners. Given such a premise, I imagined to establish a correspondence between genre or tool and mental operation, featured as to serve also the pedagogical finality, so relevant to the mind of the medieval thinker. It should, therefore, cause no wonder to detect –within the overall innermost structures of any text– special appeals to the specific faculty implied in the process of knowledge; moreover, it should be even possible to establish a correspondence between the choice of the words and terms with the operations of the knowledge faculty specifically involved in a determined process. By way of exemplification and still to be accurately surveyed, a preliminary and provisional correspondence between genres and faculties or operations featuring thinking as a process and thought as a product, could be identified as follows: - sensus or external senses, mainly addressed by the creative videoaudio devices brought about by preachers in their activity, as witnessed in many miniatures52; - species impressa or sensorial reception linked to a primal, rough judgment53 concerning the object inasmuch as existing54, thus implying also the cogitative (vis cogitativa)55 or the faculty which we would associate with the function of the amygdala. I retain that the sermons were the genre intended to mainly address the mental cogitative faculty; 52

Cf. M.G. MUZZARELLI, Pescatori di uomini. Predicatori e piazze alla fine del Medioevo, Il Mulino, Bologna 2005, pp. 71-75. 53 For an overview cf. M. DOMET DE VORGES, La perception et la psychologie thomiste, A. Roger et F. Chernoviz Editeurs, Paris 1892, pp. 55-102. Cf. also J.P. O’CALLAGHAN, Thomist Realism and the Linguistic Turn. Toward a More Perfect Form of Existence, University of Notre Dame Press, Notre Dame IN 2003, pp. 159-175. 54 Cf. DOMET DE VORGES, La perception et la psychologie thomiste, pp. 91-92. 55 Also called ratio particularis, it is linked to the experience to which the passive intellect draws information: Cf. ibid., p. 94; Cf. also: A. CASTRONOVO, La cogitativa in S. Tommaso, Pontificia Universitas Gregoriana, Romae 1966; O’CALLAGHAN, Thomist Realism and the Linguistic Turn, pp. 213-224.

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- species expressa or concept (conceptus), that is the product of the knowing activity, divided according to the different degrees of abstraction and obtained through diverse processes, substantially to be resolved into two: intuition and reasoning. The argumentations found in the summae, though all built according to the rigid rules of logics and reasoning, could rather be associated to the intuitive operation of knowledge, since quite a number of passages do remain in a compressed form to be unpacked, perfectly fitting the character of a summary (in fact, a summa). While it is true that the arguments within each article are in the form of a syllogism, nonetheless a certain capability of bridging the different passages is requested by the reader of a summa; on the opposite, the very structure of the quaestiones disputatae would mainly address the reasoning activity, given the extended usage argumentations linked by the syllogistic chain56. The basic operations of intuition and reasoning would, then, be the primary addressees of summae and quaestiones disputatae. - systematizing or the ability to connect personal knowledge to the culture: though not explicitly thematized in the Middle Ages, this specific ability of human knowledge allows the confrontation with systems of thought of all times, cultures and civilizations. Human thought is a product that is crystallized in cultures and always accessible and comparable57. The genre better addressing 56

In such a frame work, an interesting case is represented by the Summa contra Gentiles, where the genre of a summa indicated in the title is mixed with the genre of a quaestio, widely argumented. Such a circ*mstance leads to thinking that the Summa contra Gentiles could not give for granted in its interlocutors the particular intuitive ability found in the believers by assent to Revelation and the connaturality to the deep and inexpressible mysteries of reality –granted through grace and infused gifts– which is associated with it. In other words, the knowing process in the believer could profit, to a certain extent, of what could be called, borrowing the expression from the juridical realm, an ‘abbreviated rite’. In any case, the Summa contra Gentiles is an interesting work and largely under scrutiny for the exact circ*mstances of composition and destination are still unclear: Cf. J.P. TORRELL, Initiation à saint Thomas d’Aquin. Sa personne et son œuvre, Cerf, Paris 1993, pp. 153-156 (Vestigia, 13). Cf. also T. CENTI, «La Somma contro i Gentili: indole dell’opera», in G. GRASSO – S. SERAFINI (edd.), “Vita quaerens intellectum”. Tommaso d’Aquino e ricerca filosofica, Millennium Romae, Roma 1999, pp. 37-44 (Studi, 4). 57 Such systems fall in the semantic area of what Popper called the ‘World 3’: Cf. C.R. POPPER – J.C. ECCLES, The self and its brain. An argument for interactionism, Springer Internationale, Berlin – Heidelberg – London – New York 1977, pp. 36-50.

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such mental ability would be the biblical commentaries, mainly intended to represent a system of thought and culture. The biblical commentaries would be meant to build an integrated and consistent system of concepts, maintaining a certain omni-comprehensiveness –that is attending to a vision of the world–,by accepting the challenge of Revelation to reason and by resolving it within the space of faith. In the biblical commentaries rationality has definitely entered into the universe of Revelation and it learned to read reality completely in the light of the Revelation contained in the Holy Writs as well as in the wisdom of ancient thinkers, in the experience of saints and in creation. Given such framework, the heaviest labor in writing a biblical commentary was that of representing –within each micro-unit– the complexity of a reality mirroring the claims of reason facing faith and, especially, that of expressing faith in that particular modality capable to show (or, sometimes, just to hint to a direction) in each verse the implications of a faith reaching history, the world, the human being and, of course, God Himself. In fact, beginning right by the knowledge of God such as He participates it in Revelation and such as is clarified in theological reflection. The sense of an extreme fragmentation of sequences in the texts of any biblical commentary, seemingly resolving into lines heavy to read and manage, can be explained with the intention of presenting the complexity of rational investigation on the mystery of God, and a complexity which has to be visible both at the macro-level and at the micro-level. Seen in such context, the biblical commentaries would be the most original and complex production and genre, even with respect to dialectical argumentation for which the Angelic Doctor is rightly famous: biblical commentaries, in fact, belong neither to the genre of the quaestio nor to the genre of the summa, but to the genre of the expositio or lectura. An expositio, from the viewpoint of a mental operation, does not neatly nor necessarily grasp the consistent links of the text, but it limits itself to identify the pregiven order of sequence, which is not totally intelligible, nonetheless suggesting provisional or likely causal chains and links with other forms of knowing and human experience, better accessible though not obeying the rigid logical rules of syllogism, in order to leave room to a different interpretation of the intrinsic order of the revealed text. An intrinsic and necessary order, but not completely accessible

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to the human mind, thus permeable to different interpretation by the different masters in theology. Consequently, one master will provide one explanation in its divisio textus, and another master will provide another, as the authorities of the university, nor the universitas doctorum granted more credit to one interpretation over another, all of them being possible inasmuch as faithful to the biblical datum, will take origin from the biblical text and will tend to offer an exposition (expositio) of Revelation. A final consideration could be drawn: is not only the supernatural character of the content of the Bible to motivate an expositio rather than another genre (though logically more cogent for human rationality), but it is the awareness that in any line of the text some room shall be left for the presence of grace shaping human events and the understanding of them; in fact, though a supernatural gift, grace does play a role within the knowing dynamics of human rationality to support it in its investigation of reality, of the human being and of God. Biblical commentaries, then, would be intended to serve the overwhelming task of using those terms and minute passages where the links of the exposition look more conjectural than apodictic, in the awareness that argumentative rationality is not adequately equipped to intuitively grasp the presence and manifestation of the Spirit leading history to the eschaton.

3. General conclusions In the present essay, I have attempted at offering some new perspectives on the exegetical way of proceeding of St. Thomas Aquinas within the wider frame of an enquiry on the exegesis of the Middle Ages, as well as at proposing a method called ‘environ-mental’, which stresses the reciprocal implications between conditions of work of medieval masters, personal choices of the theologian as they emerge from texts, and peculiar attention and interest of the medieval world toward mental processes. More than mere isolated hints of rare and talented masters, in fact, the suitability of sciences to build the unique mosaic of knowing and their actual beneficial contamination was, I think, the widespread atmosphere any category of people living in the late Middle Ages could breath. Of course, such vision of the one enterprise of knowing shines more evidently in the huge syntheses or the innovative works of few outstanding thinkers,

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but it was a sort of daily bread. Theologians who were, at the same time, Mendicants, must have seen in the art of architecture (and, possibly, also music and drama58) a valid partner for carrying out their specific charism of preaching, where the power of sense impressions could work as starting point of a journey to the heights of complex doctrines, yet to be necessarily spread to the people. The environ-mental method could prove helpful in collecting the sources, tools and intentions of a theologian in the very moment in which he got down to work at any theological production. In other words, it could reveal the ordo intentionis behind the ordo doctrinae or disciplinae in a given work by medieval masters. The hypothesis of a correspondence between the choice of a theological genre and the faculty mainly implied in it, in order to render the ‘intellectual food’ –so to say– more approximate to be assimilated by the mind of an addressee, seemingly opens the way to future enquiries on such specific hom*ologies.

58 An interesting area of research I am actually surveying. The idea is to identify the leading elements of an argumentation with musical metaphors, as hinted to by the textual elements themselves. By means of a counterpoint, the different and independent melodies overlap and produce a harmonic sound, capable of displaying a theoretical text as a music piece.

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In our sceptical time, how are we able to affirm that it is possible to speak of God other than through metaphor, given the transcendence of the God of revelation and the fact that words are linked to created immanence? If we can only speak through metaphor, are we sure that we are in fact saying anything?1 In reaction to doubts such as these, many scholars have placed the theological style of Saint Thomas in polar opposition to metaphor. Here in almost caricatural form, is the position of classical Thomism: «For Saint Thomas as for Aristotle, when it comes to the ideal of knowledge which is ‘science’ (opus perfectum rationis), the use of poetics is somewhat shameful. And when he establishes the rules for naming God (cf. Summa Theologiæ Ia pars, q. 13), his entire concern is to establish a difference between metaphor and analogy, and so to avoid all compromise with poetic discourse within theology understood as science»2. It is a question of the coherence of theological discourse. Through the theory of analogy, the concern was to establish that the names ascribed to God and to creation, while not signifying the same thing, do not change meaning entirely. The analogical unity of words, which relates to that of concepts, is considered as the linguistic translation of a metaphysical unity. Therefore, for a long time it was thought necessary to side with metaphysical science against the art of language. Because poetic utens was the lowest level of knowledge and theology the highest, it was essential that theology owed nothing to poetry. This epistemological shift profoundly transformed the idea of theology, which risked becoming an extraction (in the chemical sense of * École biblique et archéologique française, Nablus Road, 6, 9119001 Jerusalem, Israël; email: [emailprotected] 1 Warmest thanks to my friend Robert Pelik, for his achievement : not only did he translate this piece in an English which retains a flavor of the French syntax : he.simply improved.it. 2 C. GEFFRÉ, «Note» to Thomas Aquinas, ST I, q 1, a. 9 c., in Saint Thomas d’Aquin, Somme Théologique, Cerf, Paris 1984, vol. 1, p. 162, note 22.

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the term) of a rational intelligibility out of the poetry of revelation, as if the theologian had to substitute for poetic language the clearly formulated explanations of rational discourse3. Such an idea seems initially consistent with the principle of clarificatio: and the traditional image of Saint Thomas sees in him represented the pure and simple rejection of metaphor from the theological domain4. But the consequence –or presupposition– of such an attitude is the sundering of sacra doctrina from sacra scriptura, which St. Thomas so deliberately united. In reality, it may well be that metaphor constitutes the indispensable pivot between Holy Scripture and theology. There is no question here of examining all Thomas Aquinas’s uses of metaphor (even in the limited corpus of his biblical exegesis, which includes in the interpretation of metaphor the literal meaning)5. We wish only to emphasise the constancy of the metaphorical process in the Thomistic practice of doctrina sacra, which is profoundly respectful of the letter of Scripture. Then in reading Paul Ricœur, we shall analyse one of the finest attempts ever made to protect «speculative» theological discourse from the contamination of metaphor. Finally, in order to resituate Saint Thomas Aquinas within the horizon of the modern reader’s understanding, we shall subject our argument to «deconstruction», which will allow us to show the necessary religious (hence scriptural) assumptions of theological discourse. 3

In fact we often find in Thomas’s work a way of dealing with a metaphor in two stages; firstly it is described and secondly ‘expounded’: «primum duo facit: primo ponit metaphoram, secundo expositionem» (In Is. 9, 2/111). Cf. In. Thess. 2,9; 4,1 et In psalmos 7, 9; 10, 4/31. Does this exposition consist of drawing out the metaphor or rather of decrypting it is meaning? Thomas is clearly keen to find in Scripture itself the explanation of scriptural metaphors: «Primo ponitur conditio hostium vastantium sub quibusdam metaphoribus, secundo describuntur aperte et expresse» (In Ier. 6, 1, 18). About the use of Scripture, this is what Thomas says: «Ea quoe in uno loco scripturae traduntur sub metaphoris, in aliis locis expressius exponuntur» (ST I, q. 1, a. 9, ad 2). Thomas does not therefore contrast to metaphor a rational explanation of its meaning, he remarks simply that Scripture presents gradations in the form of expression. 4 ST I, q 1, a.9, 1: “Procedere autem per similitudines varias et reproesentationes, est proprium poeticoe, quoe est infima inter omnes doctrinas. Ergo hujusmodi similitudinibus uti non est conveniens huic scientioe” 5 On this topic see G. DAHAN, L’exégèse chrétienne de la Bible en Occident médiéval, XIIe-XIVe siècle, Cerf, Paris 1999, pp. 426-448. By the same author, see also «Saint Thomas d’Aquin et la métaphore. Rhétorique et herménetique», Medioevo, 18 (1992) 85-117.

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1. Present «Ad sacram doctrinam.pertinet uti metaphoris»6: in the ninth article of the first question of the Summa Theologiæ, Thomas clearly affirms the presence of metaphors in doctrina sacra. Commenting on this article, A. Patfoort concludes that everything written there «applies only to Scripture, and at most, to comparable forms of expression such as liturgy, religious art and preaching»7. He adds that «in this respect at least, sacra doctrina is not theology». Following the Thomistic tradition, he interprets Thomas’s statement in a very restrictive way: he compares it to other passages, such as the unfinished commentary on Boethius, which separate symbolic expression from theology8. He states that: «When, for example, we need to interpret the processions of the Trinity, we will depend only on the world of the mind in order to verify the specifically divine nature of these processions»9. However, does not precisely depending on «the world of the mind» mean using psychological images to allow us to speak of the life of the Trinitarian God? Have we therefore really left the domain of metaphor?10 In fact, the reasons Thomas provides for using metaphor in doctrina sacra relate to the very nature of man and God; they concern, therefore, every kind of human utterance about God, and not only Scripture. The article where Thomas establishes the appropriateness of metaphor to sacra doctrina gives two reasons. The first is anthropological: the incarnate condition of humanity and the necessarily sensory source of all knowledge (per sensibilia ad intelligibilia) –of huge importance in an Aristotelian context, where the ubiquitousness of the metaphorical in language reflects the necessity of image in knowledge. The second is pedagogical: the need to make Holy Scripture available to everyone, even to those who are not able to understand spiritual things in themselves. The anthropological reason is reinforced by religious motivations, aiming to protect the sacred 6

ST I, q.1, a. 9, s.c. The use of metaphors is appropriate for the sacra doctrina. A. PATFOORT, Saint Thomas d’Aquin, les clés d’une théologie, FAC-éditions, Paris 1983, p. 30. 8 Cf. Thomas Aquinas, BDT q. 2, a. 3, ad 5. 9 PATFOORT, Saint Thomas d’Aquin, p. 30. Cf. ST I, q.27, a.1, c. 10 This is what is shown by J. WÉBERT, «L’image dans l’œuvre de saint Thomas et spécialement dans l’exposé doctrinal sur l’intelligence humaine», Revue Thomiste, 9 (1926) 427-445. 7

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character of Revelation. Because of the use of metaphor, there is a difficulty in understanding Revelation which requires a zealous effort on the part of believers to overcome, while at the same time veiling it from unbelievers. who would wish to violate it11. Thomas has a pragmatic vision of signification. In the manner of a modern understanding of this trope12, he sees the metaphorical as a principle rather than the precise definition of a figure of speech: «Tradere […] aliquid sub similitudine, est metaphoricum»13. Metaphor seems to indicate the figurative use of language in general14, or rather it constitutes the principle of transfer common to all figures. It is important here to go beyond the common conception of metaphor as ornament to see its essence as a transfer between contexts. A metaphorical statement is based on confiding a content (an idea) to a vehicle (an expression) which usually designates another idea. Thus a metaphor is not only a lexical transfer but 11 Cf. ST I, q.1, a. 9, especially ad 2: «Et ipsa etiam occultatio figurarum utilis est, ad exercitium studiosorum, et contra irrisiones infedelium. De quibus dicitur, Mt. 7, 6 : ‘nolite sanctum dare canibus’». Cf. also 1 Sent., Prol., d. 1, q 5, ad 3 : «Poetica scientia est de his quoe propter defectum veritatis non possunt a ratione capi; unde oportet quod quasi quibusdam similitudinibus ratio seducatur: theologia autem est de his quoe sunt supra rationem; et ideo modus symbolicus utrique communis est cum neutra rationi proportionetur». Cf. ST I-II, q 101, a.2, ad 2. 12 Our contemporaries have well described the working of metaphor: it consists of an utterance which in the context of a discourse using an ‘impertinent’ predication, suggests a new pertinence founded on analogy, and produces a new heuristic description of the reality concerned. That is why Ricœur emphasises the relationship between the notion of metaphor and that of model: in being founded on the postulate of reference and on a generalised conception of denotation, it conceives metaphysical truth by linking it to the metaphorical function of heuristic re-description of reality. Cf. P. RICŒUR, La métaphore vive, Seuil, Paris 1975 and ID., «Narrativité, phenomenologie et herméneutique», in Encyclopédie philosophique universelle, vol. 4,.L’univers philosophique, Presses Universitaires de France, Paris 1989, pp. 63-71. 13 ST I, q. 1, a. 9,.s.c. Presenting something in the form of a similitude is metaphorical. 14 For example, he applies a criteria of interpretation to it which he often uses about the types of the old Testament: «Quae dic*ntur metaphorice non oportet secundum omnia esse similia». (ST III, q 2, a. 6, ad 1; q. 8, a.1, ad 2 ; q. 46, a.1, ad 1; q. 48, a. 3, ad 1; q. 76, a. 6, ad 2). «Sed huiusmodi meaphoroe, vel symbolicoe locutiones, sunt quasi quoedam velamina veritatis, ut Dionysius dicit…» (In I Sent. d. 34, q. 3 , qla 1, arg. 3/ ad 3.)

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«an event of signification which concerns the whole utterance»15. Whether to seduce reason, hide higher truths from the vulgar regard or encourage the zeal of believers in the quest for revealed truth, the metaphor is linked to the central act discourse which is predication, and its fruitfulness is a product the mental effort of interpretation that it requires. The reason for this misunderstanding of Thomistic theological poetics becomes clearer if we take into account the education of the leading thinkers in the renewal of Thomistic philosophy. From the perspective of the neoclassical rhetoric in which they were formed, for which “that which is well understood is expressed clearly, and the words to do so arrive with ease”16, they were able to see Thomas’s rejection of metaphor as figure of speech, but were blind to the vital question which such an attitude poses to the theologian: that of his faithfulness to the Revelation which it is his mission to study, to clarify and to transmit. Indeed, if disputation is the method par excellence of theological discourse, Revelation uses symbolic expression abundantly and of necessity: it has to make manifest the supernatural realities which human language, elaborated to express created realities, would not be able adequately to name. How many pages of ‘disputation’ would the theologian need to explain only one figure of speech, resonant with many meanings, of the sacred poet? From the point of view of faith, is there not a certain hubris in wanting to resolve the enigmas of man, the world and especially of God otherwise than on the lyre of the inspired poet?17 If these revealed images tell us something of the infinite God, is not their theological ‘clarification’ fated to the nemesis of an interminable discourse, which the unfinished nature of the enormous Summa Theologiæ seems perhaps to illustrate? 15

Ph. ROUSSIN, «Figure», in Dictionnaire encyclopédique des sciences du langage, Seuil, Paris: 1971, p. 490. Contemporary theories of metaphor aspire to develop a sort of “pan-metaphorism”. Given the extension of the notion of metaphor well beyond the simple figure of speech, it seems that all ‘literal’ expressions are only so as a result of the forgetting their original metaphor. For Thomas himself, the similitudo, determinant characteristic of metaphor, governs sensation as well as conceptualisation: the species is a similitude of the thing, the conceptus is the similitude of the species. The most elementary knowledge thus bears the print of metaphor.

«Ce que l’on conçoit bien s’énonce clairement, Et les mots pour le dire arrivent aisément». (N. BOILEAU, Satires, Epîtres, Art poétique, Gallimard, Paris 1985). 16

Cf. Ps. 49,5b.

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In fact, for whoever follows Aristotle, knowledge is a patiently elaborated victory over a sensory given which is initially necessarily varied and unclear. It may well be that metaphor –and even the ever metaphorical clarification of metaphor– is essentially a part of this art of knowledge. Thomas only distinguishes the intentions of poetry and of sacra doctrina in order to affirm more clearly the pedagogical and religious –therefore theological– value of the metaphorical process: Ad primum dicendum quod poeta utitur metaphoris propter repraesentationem: repraesentatio enim naturaliter homini delectabilis est. Sed sacra doctrina utitur metaphoris propter necessitatem, ut dictum est (in c.)18. Poetry makes use of metaphors to produce a representation, for it is natural to man to be pleased with representations. But sacred doctrine makes use of metaphors as both necessary and useful.

There are different reasons for using either poetic or ‘doctrinal’ metaphors: on the one hand, simply the pleasure of representation; on the other, the need for signification. It is the intention of the speaker, which initially distinguishes between them. But would it not be possible for a certain delectatio to accompany the necessitas which Thomas describes? His description of the contemplative life would lead us to believe so: it is the beauty of God that the contemplative tries to transmit. For he who wishes to convey a spiritual reality contemplated in itself, the use of metaphor therefore is not only an aesthetic pleasure or a pedagogical imperative. But it is first necessary to ask if such contemplation is indeed possible: the anthropological reason for the use of similitudines (linked to the incarnate condition of humanity) could not be overcome even by the most spiritual of theologians. With his fine art of the manifestatio, Thomas actually mixes a subtle metaphor with the answer.he gives to a second argument against metaphor. That argument makes clear that sacra doctrina should be explained, be manifested, rather than represented through figures of speech: Haec doctrina videtur esse ordynata ad veritatis manifestationem: unde et manifestatoribus eius praemium promittitur, Eccli. 24, 31: 18

ST I, q. 1, a. 9, ad 1.

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qui elucidant me vitam aeternam habebunt. Sed per hujusmodi similitudines veritas occultatur19. Further, this doctrine seems to be intended to make truth clear. Hence a reward is held out to those who manifest it: ‘They that explain me shall have life everlasting’ (Eccl. 24:31). But by such similitudes truth is obscured.

These are the nuances which Thomas brings in his answer: Radius divinae revelationis non destruitur propter figuras sensibiles quibus circumvelatur, ut dicit Dyonisius, sed manet in sua veritate ut mentes quibus fit revelatio, non permittat in similitudinibus permanere, sed elevet eas ad cognitionem intelligibilium ; et per eos quibus revelatio facta est, alii etiam circa haec instruantur. Unde et ea quae in uno loco Scripturae traduntur sub metaphoris, in aliis locis expressius exponuntur20. The ray of divine revelation is not extinguished by the sensible imagery wherewith it is veiled, as Dionysius says (Coel. Hier. i); and its truth so far remains that it does not allow the minds of those to whom the revelation has been made, to rest in the metaphors, but raises them to the knowledge of truths; and through those to whom the revelation has been made others also may receive instruction in these matters. Hence those things that are taught metaphorically in one part of Scripture, in other parts are taught more openly.

In order to express the intelligible in all its purity, Thomas uses a metaphor, that of the ray of light! Thus, while establishing the continuity between Holy Scripture and theology in a unique sacra doctrina, he states at the same time that theology should not proceed by metaphor, but that metaphor is a necessary mode of expression for doctrina. As a faithful disciple of Aristotle and Dionysius the Areopagite, Thomas tries not so much to eliminate metaphor, through substituting a rational explanation for it, as to interpret it. Certainly, Thomas «separates figures of speech from thought», even if «it is true that the does use, with judicious restraint, a few beautiful 19 20

ST I, q. 1, a. 9, 2. ST I, q. 1, a. 9, ad 2.

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metaphors», of which Chenu gives an interesting list21. However, we would be mistaken in ignoring the poetic choice in Thomas’s «sobriety», which «reduces to their rational coefficient the experimental expressions and emotional elaborations of the mystics», which «in keeping with the imperatoria brevitas of Latin, are crafted into the formulae of pure philosophy». Finally, and above all, if Thomas «rejects all literary fabrication»22, he cannot avoid the fiction which is intrinsic to the use of language itself, that verbal ‘double’ which it attaches to everything it designates. He may well have reproached Plato for «the wrong method of teaching» by «speaking always through figures and symbols»23; it is nonetheless the case that theological language uses numerous irreducible images. «There would be a vast and original study to undertake in the work of St Thomas Aquinas. It would be to search out all the familiar images, not only the visual ones –of forms and colours– but every type of image that a fine psychology would be able to discover. It would then be necessary to classify them, appreciating their respective importance, and by an effort of intuition, which would be almost a divination, restore a whole part of the great Doctor’s soul. That would give us a biographical element which would teach us more surely about his real life than any number of dates and places in which historians try to enclose the minds of great men of the past»24. In the article.quoted here, Fr. Wébert used an enquiry into «pure spiritual realities» –which one would expect to find «freed from the obsession of the world of forms and colours»– as an argument a fortiori to establish the irreducibility of metaphor: «Here is the list of the principal verbs used to describe the operations of human intelligence: clarify, illuminate, see; suffer, receive; seize, penetrate enter, reach; put together, separate, divide, remove; be put in movement, offer, retreat, reflect; move, show, order; measure, keep, be prevented, adhere; conceive, produce, conform, to be in accord, to be in disaccord (manifestare per lumen, illustarre, videre, illuminare; pati, recipere, apprehendere, penetrare, intrare, attingere; 21 M.-D. CHENU, Introduction à l’étude de saint Thomas d’Aquin, Institut d’études médiévales – Vrin, Montréal – Paris [1950]4 1984, pp. 99-100. 22 Ibid. 23 «Plato habuit malum modum docendi. Omnia enim figurate docet et per symbola; intendens aliud per verba quam sonet ipsa verba, sicut quod dixit animam esse circulum» (Thomas Aquinas, De An. I, 1ectio 8). 24 WÉBERT, «L’image», p. 427.

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componere, separare, dividere, abstrahere; moveri, tendere, convertere, reflecti; movere, ostendere, ordinare; mensurare, conservare, impediri, adhaerere; concipere, producere, conformari, consonare, dissonare, etc.). Will all these images define that divine and elusive thing which is intelligence?»25. From a purely literary angle, the work of theology seems thus to open into the space of fiction26 which metaphor installs. Wébert deconstructs Saint Thomas’s expositions on intelligence by showing the irreducible metaphors behind the characteristic themes of the Thomistic intellect: passivity, light, art, reflection of the ray of light. However, he does not conclude that these analyses are vain, on the contrary: «We should not reject absolutely [these] analogies; they have at least drawn our attention to certain ways of being»27. Continuing the study of Thomas’s doctrine of intelligence, he shows that the work of theological discourse is «progressively to purify» these images «of all sensory qualities», but that «however hard we may try, if there exists a schema, even very attenuated, we are dealing with imagination; […] if there is no schema, then what is there? Would that not be the simple negation of all form of being? In fact the quotation which is given as in De anima is the negative expression: Oportet quod intellectus careat omni natura sensibili28. Must we be satisfied with, on the one hand, an impoverished schema, and on the other, a negation? Is that all that our effort of intelligence can reach?»29 25

Ibid., p. 433. A fiction is commonly thought to be a construction which does not correspond to anything in reality. However, on the epistemological plane, it is a theoretical entity which is used without affirming its objective reality but which has explanatory value. In psychology, the fictional structure appears where the real is treated as inconceivable. The positive or negative connotations linked to ‘fiction’ work on its polysemy: to invent a story can be considered a productive act of the creative imagination (and in that, the poet as creator of possible worlds is, according to Aristotle, more of a philosopher than a historian –fiction here is intimately linked to the very act of language, which can announce the real which precedes it as well as anticipate that which follows; it can invent a possible world participating in reality more essential than that of the empirical world) but it can also be seen as the representation of a falsehood (from which comes the Platonic condemnation of the poet as liar). Cf. J.-M. SCHAEFFER, Pourquoi la fiction?, Seuil, Paris 1999. 27 WÉBERT, «L’image», p. 436. 28 Cf. Aristotle, De anima, III, 4, 429a20. 29 WÉBERT, «L’image», p. 437. 26

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Let us look at the word «light» used in relation to God. In the Commentary on the Sentences Saint Thomas asks if this use is metaphorical or not: he replies yes, as far as the thing signified is concerned, but no, as far as the reason for which it is employed is concerned. A term which has a metaphorical meaning on the semantic level may also be granted an «a-metaphorical» meaning on the semiotic level by relating it to the intention in the act of predication of the speaker: Secundum Augustinum (De Gen. ad litt., 4, 28) lux magis proprie dicitur in spritualibus quam in corporalibus; et ita splendor non continetur inter metaphorica; Sed dicendum quod lux quantum ad rem significatam proprie est in corporalibus nec in spiritualibus nisi metaphorice dicitur; sed quantum ad rationem a qua nomen imponitur, quae consistit in manifestatione, magis proprie est in spiritualibus30. According to St. Augustine (De Gen. ad litt., 4, 28) light more properly refers to spiritual than corporal things, therefore splendour does not have to be considered in terms of metaphorical expressions. However, it has to be noted that the word light presenting a real thing, in fact refers to corporal things and refers only to spiritual things through metaphor. Whereas if it concerns the reason of its use based on manifestation, the word is properly used referring to spiritual things.

Later, he takes up the question of light in more detail. After having exposed the opposing views of Augustine and Ambrose, he analyses the problem in the following way: Dicitur enim lux in spiritualibus illud quod ita se habet ad manifestationem intellectivam, sicut se habet lux corporalis ad manifestationem sensitivam. Manifestatio autem verius est in spiritualibus; et quantum ad hoc, verum est dictum Augustini quod lux verius est in spiritualibus quam in corporalibus, non secundum propriam rationem lucis, sed secundum rationem manifestationis, prout dicitur in canonica Ioannis: «omne quod manifestatur lumen est»; per quem modum omne quod manifestum est clarum dicitur, et omne occultum obscurum. […] Dicendum est quod Deus dicitur lux vera quantum ad veram naturam lucis. Per quem etiam modum dicitur vitis vera, Jn 1531. 30 31

Thomas Aquinas, In I Sent., d. 22, q. 1, a. 4, expos. In II Sent., d. 13, q. 1, a. 2.

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In spiritual things light is called what in relation to intellectual manifestation behaves as corporal light towards sensuous manifestation. However, manifestation is more true in spiritual things and referring to this Augustine says that light is more true in spiritual than corporal things. It is true not because of the pure reason of light but because of the reason of manifestation, which St. John describes: “Everything that is revealed is light”, in this way by light we understand what is revealed and by dark what is obscured. […] It has to be stated that God is called the true light in reference to the truth from which He derives resemblance and not in reference to the real nature of light. In the same way He is called the True Vine (John 15).

A rapid reading will conclude: «light» in relation to God, is a metaphor which designates the notion of manifestation, of auto-manifestation. However, from a more modern, sceptical point of view, these explanations of Thomas on the subject of metaphor remain insufficient: how can we accept the proposition «manifestation is more true in spiritual things» if on opening the Dictionnaire Latin-Français by Benoist and Goelzer at manifestatio, we discover that this word comes from [manu *Festus (

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